Link's hardships
by Anime Wildfire
Summary: Link is forced to raise his child alone after his and Zelda’s secret marriage is revealed and Zelda is forced to marry a prince. Can Link cope with the pain and responsibility of raising his child alone?
1. memories of the heart

**Hey everyone! welcome to my newest story! Link's hardships, I' m really excited about this story, I've been typing for two days, and I finally typed a good action scene. (that'll come later.) I hope you all enjoy this story, one of the things I want to show in the story is Link's compassion and the love for his child.**

**Read and review! My goal is 100 reviews for this story, so please review!**

**Anime Wildfire**

_Zelda stood behind him, cradling the small bundle in her arms, tears pouring down her face as she approached Link from behind._

"_Link," she said, the blonde young man turned around, surprise filling his baby blue eyes, he quickly jumped up and raced over to her._

"_Zelda? What are you doing here? Did your father change his mind? I thought he was refusing to let you come and see me or me come and see you." He said, his eyes filled with pain at the last part. It had been around 7-8 months since he had last seen her._

_Zelda bowed her head._

"_h-he still refuses to let me see you, but he… he made me come to give you something." Zelda said, leaning forward to show him the blanket in her arms._

_Link glanced at he blanket, a shocked look on his face._

"_Zelda… what-" he started, but Zelda cut him off. _

"_Link, I want you to meet our son, I was pregnant when we were forced apart… I'm so sorry! They took you away before I even got a chance to tell you." Zelda said, she was now sobbing, tears streaming down her pale cheeks as she clutched her son._

_The baby had Link's golden blond hair and Zelda's complexion, bits of his cute blonde hair fell over his eyes, which, when they opened, would be the same baby blue color as his father's._

"_Zelda… it's ok, I'm here now," Link said, wrapping his arms around her. Zelda sobbed harder, and pressed her face against Link's chest._

"_Oh Link… I've missed you so much, my father refused to let me leave the castle the whole time I was pregnant, he didn't want anyone to know, he even tried to make me give up the baby, but I convinced him to let our son live." She said._

"_How did you do that?" Link asked, Zelda sobbed harder and tightened her hold on Link's tunic, one arm still wrapped around her precious son._

"_H-he made a bargain with me, I had to stay in the castle until the baby was born, and then… I had to find you and give him to you." Zelda managed to choke out._

"_My father said the only way he would let the baby live is if you took it and raised it on your own, away from me." Zelda said, and Link felt tears sliding down his cheeks._

"_You mean… I'm to take him, and raise him on my own, and you're to go back and marry whoever he wants you to marry?" Link said, Zelda let out a huge sob and buried her face in her hand._

"_That's exactly what he said. I'm so sorry Link! If only we were able to keep our marriage secret a little longer…" Zelda said, Link was about to hug her again, but a spear suddenly blocked his way._

"_You're not to touch the princess, those were the orders his highness gave us, the princess is to give you that little bastard and then we are to escort her back to the castle." A guard said._

"_Don't call my son a bastard." Link snarled, trying to push past the guard, but the guard held him back and turned to Zelda._

"_Princess, hurry up and give him the child so we can be on our way." The guard snapped as he and a few other guards struggled to hold back Link._

_Zelda let out another sob and approached Link, the guards backed away and to let her have some room._

"_Link," Zelda said, gently rocking the boy, "please, take our son and raise him well, I will try to come and see him whenever I can sneak away." Zelda said, tears streaming down her face once more as she gently kissed her sleeping son on his forehead._

_Link nodded and Zelda reluctantly handed him the baby, Link gently held his son and glanced at Zelda. She was staring at her son as she wiped her tears away._

_The guards moved over and began to move back to the castle, but Link called to Zelda._

"_Zelda! What's his name?" he asked, Zelda looked back, and for the first time since he had seen her, she smiled, just a little._

"_His name is William, Willie for short, which ever you like best." Zelda said, she turned back towards her destination, her body may have left, but she had left her heart behind._

_Link watched her go before glancing down at his son, a small smile on his face as he thought, "William, she picked my favorite name."_

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Link bolted up into a sitting position, breathing hard from his dream. Why couldn't he stop dreaming about her? Link didn't understand it.

Suddenly, a baby's cry filled the night; Link shook his head to forget the dream and glanced at the blanket next to him.

A little baby was inside, no more than a few months old, the baby's blue eyes were filled with tears as he cried, waiting for his mother to comfort him.

Link gently picked him up and cradled him, "shh Willie, don't cry, it's ok." Link said, speaking softly to his son.

All at once Willie recognized his father's voice and slowly stopped crying, instead, his adorable eyes followed Link's face, watching whatever he did.

Link sighed and stretched his legs out before gently laying his son in front of him. Willie's eyes still followed him, making Link grin.

"You're just like your mother," he said, grinning down at Willie.

Then, much to his surprise, Willie smiled back, (you know how young babies smile back at you when you smile at them.)

Link grinned again and began to laugh softly, suddenly, a little blue light flew out from his hat and floated next to him.

"Link? What are you doing up at this time of night? And what's worse, you keeping Willie up with you!" Navi exclaimed, floating down next to Willie's face.

"The poor little boy needs his rest, don't you? You little cutie! You're even cuter than Link!" Navi said.

"Don't go filling my son's head with ridiculous dreams Navi," Link said, pretending to be stern, Navi snorted.

"Oh please, this kid barely has to try and he's the cutest thing around. Aren't you, you adorable little prince!" Navi cooed. Link rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, I think the two of you should be going back to sleep, babies need lots of sleep, and staying up late isn't going to help with that." Navi said, hovering near Link's face. Link nodded and picked Willie up before lying back down on the blanket. His son snuggled next to him with his hand over Willie's small body. The two of them were asleep almost instantly, and little Willie resorted to sucking his thumb in his sleep.

Navi was about to go back to sleep when she noticed something that would make any girl melt from the cuteness, Link had fallen asleep with his hand on Willie's body, what Navi noticed was Willie's little hand tighten around Link's thumb.

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The next morning, Link and Navi were the first ones up.

"Link, I think we should go to Kakariko and find help," Navi said as Link extinguished the fire he had made the night before.

"What do we need help with?" Link asked as he picked up Epona's saddle and swung it up on her back.

Navi placed her little hands on her hips, "you well know what we need help with." She said, zooming over to the sleeping Willie and hovering over him.

Link tightened Epona's girth strap and grinned,

"Navi, what makes you think I need help raising my own son." He said; Navi flew up to his face.

"Link! You know as well as I do that you have no idea how to raise a baby! Sheesh! You can barely even take care of yourself!" Link rolled his eyes.

"Fine Navi, we'll head to Kakariko, but only for a little while." He said, tying on Epona's saddlebags. Navi nodded,

"Good, you finally got some sense knocked into you, maybe we should have gotten you a baby to look after a long time ago." She said. Link ignored her and picked Willie up.

"Com' on Navi, let's go." He said as he mounted Epona. Holding Willie and taking the reins in the other, Link turned Epona towards Kakariko village.

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"Navi, are sure someone here can help me?" Link muttered a little while later, Navi nodded and floated near Link's shoulder.

"I'm positive, there has to be at least one woman around here that has a baby or that can at least help you." Navi said.

"Well, what about Impa?" Link suggested, "She took care of Zelda most of her life, maybe she can help."

"Link! That's a brilliant idea! I'm sure Impa would be willing to help, she was really upset when the king forced you and Zelda apart." Navi said. Link shifted Willie a bit and started jogging towards Impa's house; Navi flew behind him, cooing at Willie while he slept.

"Navi, what if she's not home?" Link said as he approached Impa's house,

"Then we'll wait for her to come back or we'll find someone else." Navi said. Link nodded and opened the door to Impa's house.

"Hello? Impa? Are you here?" Link said, he went inside and glanced around, no one was here.

"It's ok Link, we'll find someone else." Navi said, she noticed a piece of paper on the table.

"Link, why don't you write a note for Impa when she comes back? Then she'll know you came by and that you need help." Navi suggested.

"That's a good idea Navi, watch Willie for a sec." Link said, setting Willie down on the bed near the door. Navi floated over and cooed to him while Link wrote the note.

(He just wrote that he stopped by and had some questions about Willie in case you're wondering what he wrote.)

"Com' on Navi, let's go. Maybe we can find a place to stay tonight." Link said, picking Willie up, Navi floated over to Link's shoulder as he left Impa's house, glancing inside one last time before he closed the door behind him.

Link left Impa's house and headed through Kakariko, stopping to sit on the edge of the well to plan his next move.

"We could always ask Saria, she could help us, she raised you, after all." Navi said, Link brightened up a bit.

"That's a great idea Navi, I know if anyone can help us, Saria can." He said.

At that moment, Willie began to cry again, and Link turned his attention back to his son.

"ssh, don't cry Willie, it's ok, I'm here." Link said, setting Willie on his knees, Navi floated over to Willie's head.

"Link, he looks like he's hungry, have you fed him yet?" she asked, Link shook his head. Navi rolled her eyes.

"Link! You've got to feed him, babies need lots of food, now come on, we've got to find someone who has some food for him." She said.

"Where am I gonna find someone who has food for him?" Link asked, Navi floated down next to Willie again just as a woman came around the corner,

"Link, there has to be someone around her with a baby, or at least someone with children." Navi said.

"Well the place looks pretty deserted right now." Link said, Navi snorted.

"That's because it's early in the morning, not many people are awake yet." She said just as Willie began to cry louder.

"Aw Willie come on, don't cry." Link said, next to them, the old woman was listening as Link tried to calm Willie down.

"Excuse me, do you need some help?" she asked, Link looked up, and relief spread across his face. Navi flew into Link's hat.

"Um, kinda." He said, the old woman grinned, "come with me, I can help you, my daughter just recently had a baby herself, she can help you."

"Thank you." Link said, the woman nodded, "what's your name?" she asked.

"Link," Link replied as he followed the woman back to her house, where a young woman was waiting with a little baby.

"Mother! Where have you been?" she asked, the old woman grinned. "Relax Lily, I went to get some water at the well."

Lily glanced at Link, "looks like you found more than just water." She said, the old woman sighed, "Lily, this is Link, Link, this is my daughter Lily." She turned to Lily.

"Link needs some help with his baby Lily, I knew you could help him." She said; Lily turned to Link.

"I can help you, what do you need help with?" she asked, Link glanced down at Willie, who by now had stopped crying and was staring up at Lily and her mother with big eyes.

"Ah, he looks hungry, want me to show you how to feed him?" Lily asked, Link nodded.

"Yes please, that would be helpful." He said, Lily nodded and disappeared into one of the back rooms. She returned a minute later with a bottle.

"Here," she said, holding her hands out, "I'll show you how to feed him." Link handed Willie to her and Lily cradled Willie in a comfortable position and began to feed him the bottle.

"What's his name?" she asked, "Willie." Link said, and Lily smiled.

"That's a sweet name, you must be a new father, other wise you would know how to do this." She said, Link nodded.

"Yeah, he's my only son, my wife… died, a few months ago." Link lied; he knew he couldn't tell them that the princess was Willie's mother.

Lily glanced up at him, "I'm sorry," she said, Link shrugged. "It's fine, I have Willie," he said, Lily nodded.

"What about you?" Link asked, he hoped he wasn't being nosy. "My husband is a soldier at the castle, he comes by every now and then, especially now that we have our daughter Gwen." Lily said, looking at the cradle near the window.

A minute late Willie finished his bottle and began to cry again, Lily set the bottle down and gently rocked him, cooing the whole time. It didn't help, so Lily handed him back to Link, and he immediately stopped crying. Lily smiled.

"Looks like he knows who his father is." She said, her mother smiled and nodded her head.

"He looks like you too." She said, Lily nodded her head in agreement. Making Link blush.

"Thanks," he said, he headed for the door.

"Thanks again for helping me and my son." He said before he left, Lily nodded. "Anytime." She said, and as soon as Link was gone she said.

"I could have sworn I've seen him before."

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Link left Kakariko and found Epona waiting near the steps; Navi flew out from Link's hat now that they were out of the village.

"Not that that woman wasn't helpful, but we need to find someone else who can help you." Navi said; Link nodded.

"Yeah, maybe we should go and see Saria." He said, Navi nodded. "That's a good idea, maybe you should settle down for a while, maybe move to Hyrule marketplace or something. That way you won't be traveling all the time, it would be good for Willie too." Navi said.

Link nodded, "yeah, maybe I should settle down for a little while, at least until Willie's a little older, then maybe I can start traveling again."

Navi pretended to fall back and faint. "Dear goddesses! Is this the more responsible and mature side of Link I'm seeing? Or is it just a dream?" she said dramatically. Link rolled his eyes.

"Oh please Navi, stop being such a drama queen." He said; Navi started laughing.

"I couldn't help it, teasing you is soooo much fun!" Navi said, still laughing.

"You're so funny Navi." Link said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes again.

Navi had managed to stop laughing a minute later as Link mounted Epona. "You know Link, you can't carry him forever while you ride, soon he'll be to big to ride with you, and you'll have to get him his own horse." Navi said.

"I'll worry about that later, right now, I need to start heading towards Kokiri forest." Link said, Navi sighed and hid in Link's hat.

"What ever you say Link." She said as she slipped into his hat.

**how was the first chapter? I know it might have been a little cheesy, but It'll get better as the story goes on, I've decided it will span over the years, starting with Willie as a baby, them moving to toddler, child, teenager and maybe even adult. I haven't decided that yet. Well, see you soon!**

**Read and review**

**Anime Wildfire**


	2. the plan

**I just realized something, everytime I put up a new chapter I start out with 'hey everyone!' Ironic, isn't it.**

**Thanks to all the people who have reviewed so far! Wow, I never thought this story will be so popular. I also noticed several of you were confused about the whole 'secret marriage' thing. So I, the wonderful author, shall explain it too you.**

**Ok, the reason Link isn't known too well is because after they went back in time most people forgot him, but later on, he starts making a name for himself and people realize he is the hero of time from the legends. (they all assumed they were dreaming the whole Ganondorf thing.)**

**Also, the reason Zelda's father was so unsupportive of Zelda marrying Link is because,**

**1, she married without his permission. 2, she married a peasant. And 3, she kept it a secret and didn't tell him. This obviously upset him very much, so he broke up Link and Zelda, banished Link, and forbid the two from ever seeing each other again. (Link was only banished from Hyrule castle.)**

**But there was one small problem. After Link was banished, Zelda learned that she was pregnant. Because no one other than the king and the sages knew that Zelda and Link had gotten married, this posed a huge problem to the king. He tried to get Zelda to have an abortion. But she put her foot down at that point. So she and the king made a deal, Zelda would be allowed to have her baby, if she stayed in the castle, gave the baby up to Link after it was born, and married the prince of his choice after she gave the baby to Link. Since Zelda knew she had no other choice, she agreed. So for about 8 months she stayed in the castle, then she gave birth to baby Willie, and took him to Link. And that's where our story starts. (FYI, Link and Zelda were married for about 3-4 months.)**

**I hope that clears everything up, if anyone has any more questions, contact me. I'm happy to answer any questions, after all, what's the point of reading it if you're confused? **

**Enjoy this next chapter! Sorry it's a little short.**

**Anime Wildfire**

A few hours later, darkness had covered Hyrule, it was around 11 pm, and a small campfire could be seen near one of the trees in the middle of Hyrule field.

A pretty red mare was tied to the tree, her name, Epona. Her owner, Link, was sleeping next to the tree, his face flickering in the light of the campfire.

On his shoulder was Navi, the little blue fairy had her wings curled around her like a blanket, and she was sleeping peacefully.

Sleeping next to Link was Willie, he was curled up in his blankets and Link's tunic, Link had been worried that Willie would get sick from the cold, so he covered him with his tunic.

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound, and a blue blur jumped down from the tree and landed next to it. The figure had golden blond hair tucked behind a scarf and glowing red eyes behind the bangs.

This figure's name was Shiek.

Shiek crept silently over to where Link and Willie were sleeping, be especially careful not to wake Link up.

(Note in this story, Zelda and Shiek are one person, Shiek is just Zelda's other identity.)

Link was sleeping peacefully, Willie sleeping in the crook of his arm with his thumb in his mouth and his other hand holding onto Link's tunic. Shiek smiled at the sight of father and son sleeping together.

Shiek glance around to be sure no one was watching before moving his arms into the shape of a T. There was a flash of light, and when it was gone, so was Shiek. In Shiek's place stood a beautiful young woman wearing a long white and purple dress.

In other words, the princess Zelda.

Zelda crept silently up to the sleeping Link and Willie, being careful not to wake them as she stroked Willie's cheek and kissed Link's cheek.

Then she changed back in to Shiek and pulled out a Deku nut, but right before she disappeared, she muttered.

"Link… Willie, I'm glad you're doing ok."

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Link awoke the next morning and glanced around, Willie was still safely asleep next to him. Epona and Navi were just beginning to stir.

"Where we goin' now Link?" Navi said groggily, yawning a few times to fully awaken herself.

"I'm think we should move to Kokiri forest for a year or two, then move to Hyrule marketplace once Willie's a little older, there I can settle down, get a job and not have to worry about Willie." Link said, picking up the blanket he had slept on. (After moving Willie to the side of course.)

"That sounds like a good plan to me." Navi said, yawning once more as she settled herself on Link's shoulder.

"There's just one problem, what will you going to do with Willie while you're off working? You can't leave him by himself." Navi said, Link looked at her and grinned. Navi, catching his glance, turned pale.

"Link… no way, I can't baby-sit! I'm a small fairy, how would I be able to discipline him? He'd squish me in one swipe of his cute little hands! There's no way I can take watch him." She said, Link grinned again.

"Navi, here's what I'm thinking, if we stay in Kokiri forest long enough, Saria can teach you all about babysitting, then you can watch Willie for me. He'll be at least three by the time we move to Hyrule marketplace anyway." Link said, Navi sighed.

"I don't have much of a choice do I?" she said, she zoomed down to Willie.

"On the bright side, I'll get to spend lots of time with this cutie wutie little prince!" she cooed. She looked up at Link.

"By the way Link, isn't Willie technically a prince? Since Zelda's his mother?" she said, Link stopped packing to turn to her.

"Biologically? Yes, technically? No. They would never accept him as their prince, me being his father." Link said; he turned back to his packing.

Navi sadly turned back to Willie. "Don't worry little one, I'm sure someday you'll get your chance." She whispered. Willie rolled over in his blankets and didn't wake up.

"aww, that's so sweet." Navi said, she flew up by Link.

"You have the cutest son." She said, to him, Link grinned and glanced down at Willie.

"Yeah, he gets that from Zelda." He said; Navi glanced at him, grinning.

"Although there's some of you in him too." She said, "Like your stubbornness, your courage, and maybe even a little of your looks." Navi said, tilting her head to get a better look at Willie.

"Nope, that's Zelda. He defiantly gets his good looks from his mother." Navi said, grinning at Link. Link glared at her and picked up his sleeping son. He swung up on Epona; Navi flew up next to his face.

"Where are we going?" she asked. Link grinned at her.

"Kokiri forest, remember the plan we just spoke about? Moving to Kokiri forest for a year or two then moving to Hyrule marketplace? Remember?" Link said. Navi nodded.

"Yes Link, I remember the plan that includes me babysitting something that could squish me with one swipe!" Navi said, crossing her arms. Link laughed.

"Oh come on Navi, do it for Willie, you won't even have to baby-sit him for a few more years. Saria will love to keep an eye on Willie for me while I'm working." Link said, a puppy-dog type of look in his eyes. Navi groaned.

"All right, I'll do it. But I'm only doing this for Willie! You owe me way to many times for me to be doing this for you." Navi said, her back to Link.

Link grinned, "thanks Navi!" he said, flicking Epona's reins. Epona took off and Navi fell off Link's shoulder. She spent the remainder of the trip to the forest trying to catch up to Epona.

**I know, I know, it's pathetically short, but the next chapter will be MUCH longer, I promise.**

**By the way, If you've check out my profile lately, I WAS RIGHT! It was Twilight princess in the package. Ha ha, I'm so smart...**

**The only problem is, it's the Wii version, and I don't have the Wii yet!! Sigh, sometimes I think I'm cursed with bad luck... Now I have to wait until we get the Wii! What's a girl to do while she waits for the Wii? Draw prictures! So far I've drawn 2 pictures of Twilight Link, and they're pretty good, concidering I've only drawn Ocarina of time Link.**

**Well, see you all next chapter, I have to go work on chapter 4 some more. See ya!**

**Anime Wildfire**


	3. Link's job

**YES! I have 14 reveiws! I'm so excited! Can you tell? I don't know when the next chapter will be up, but I'd say sometime later this week. I have the next two chapters written out but I'm trying to take it a little slow, since my christmas break is coming to an end (Jan 2) and I have a bunch of homework, like a stupid project on balancing a check book and a stupid test to study for.**

**I know ther e are a few reviews I didn't get to reply, and I'm sorry about that. That stupsis review reply thing is messed up, So I'd like to thank all my reviewers right now. **

**Disclaimer, I realize I didn't add this last time, I just think their stupid. I mean, nobody here ownes the shows, I certainly don't own The legend of Zelda, but man... I sure would love too.**

Saria was absolutely thrilled with Willie, she loved playing with him, holding him and feeding him. Link and Willie lived in Kokiri forest for three years, during which Link would leave Willie in Saria's care while he went and did his job as the hero of time. Sometimes coming home with cuts and bruises from his many battles. But in Link's opinion, Saria's lectures on Link letting his son see him in that condition were worse than the actual wounds.

Young Willie grew into an adorable 3 year old. He loved playing with Saria, but enjoyed his time with his father even more and would often wait for him to come home, sitting by the window for hours saying "Daddy come home, daddy come home."

Link loved playing with Willie and spent as much time with him as he could, he knew the two would be able to move to Hyrule marketplace as soon as he saved up enough rupees, (the money he got from his many jobs as the hero of time.) He also hoped that Willie would soon be able to learn sword fighting, the young boy showed signs of talent with the sword, just like his father, and Link was eager to teach the toddler and see how much talent his son had inherited from him.

Link, Willie and Navi moved to Hyrule market place after Willie's third birthday. Saria convinced him to stay until Willie turned three, wanting to throw the boy a birthday party and a going away party at the same time. (She gave him a green hat like Link's)

After the party, the three spent one last night in Link's old tree house. Navi had decided to go with them; she would miss Link and Willie too much after they left. Saria bid them all goodbye as they left, telling them to come back soon a visit. (Mido just snorted and crossed his arms; he and Link were still at odds with each other)

Link, Navi and Willie settled in their little house in the market place, their house had two floors, (the perks of being the hero of time,) Link and Willie each had their own room on the second floor, Link built a small house for Navi and hung it on the wall in Willie's room. (Complete with a hot tub, at Navi's request)

Down stairs there was a small kitchen and a living room. The bedrooms had small balconies off each bedroom. (Link made sure to lock Willie's until he's older)

Willie was thrilled with their new home, as Navi was with her private little room. He walked around their home, pointing to things and saying their name while Link followed him and grinned and his enthusiasm.

Oh how Link wished Zelda could be there to see their son. He had grown so much since she had seen him at his 2nd birthday.

She had gotten married to a prince from another kingdom; the two had gotten married a few weeks after Zelda gave Willie to Link. Her wedding took place in front of Hyrule castle, and hundreds of people had showed up to see their only princess get married. Link had thought about taking Willie, but the thought of his son seeing his mother get married was too much for him to bare. So he left Willie with Saria and went with Navi to Zelda's wedding.

Zelda was miserable the whole time; even Navi could see it. She didn't smile the whole time, and after the wedding she caught sight of Link and gave him a weak smile, all her misery was contained in that smile, Link could see it. He has swallowed hard and bit his lip as Zelda and her new husband rode by.

Navi was upset too, she was very good friends with Link and could sense his distress. She had really like Zelda. Zelda had been kind to her after she and Link had gotten married, she had let Navi explore the castle while she and Link spent the day together.

"Link!"

Link snapped of his thoughts and turned his attention to the small blue fairy in front of him.

"Link! Pay attention! Willie's hungry!" Navi said, her hands on her hips. Link sighed and stood up to get Willie some food. He was standing in front of Link. His hands reaching up towards Link. Link grinned and picked the hungry toddler up. He headed into the kitchen to fix up some food for Willie.

Willie stood by the counter as Link cut up an apple for him to eat, his blue eyes wide as he waited for Link to finish.

Link glanced down at Willie and noticed his son staring up at him with big eyes. Link rolled his eyes at his son's impatience and handed him a piece of apple. Willie's eyes grew wide with pleasure as he bit into the apple. Smiling happily at his father as he chewed. Navi flew into the room and sat on the edge of the counter, her head propped onto her arm.

"Aw! He's soooo cute!" she cooed, flying down next to Willie's face. "Who knew eating an apple could be so cute!" Link rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well he's the pifiny of cuteness isn't he?" he said, he threw a piece of apple at Navi. She dodged it and flew up into Link's face, her face red with anger.

"Link! Watch where you aim that thing?! Are you purposely trying to kill me?!" Navi screeched. Link grinned at her, "do you really want me to answer that?" he said. Navi stuck her tongue out at him and flew onto Willie's shoulder, shooting a glare back at him.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and a voice said.

"Hero of time! We need you! There's trouble in the north part of the marketplace!" Link rushed over to the door and opened it, one of Hyrule castle's guards stood there.

"Please hurry! A group of bandits are attacking! They're stealing things and striking down people as we speak!" the guards said. Link quickly grabbed the master sword and his shield and raced over to the door.

"Navi, please watch Willie for me." He said before he closed the door and disappeared with the guard. Willie turned to Navi, a piece of his apple still in his hand.

"Nawi, daddy come back soon, yes?" he said. Navi floated over to his shoulder.

"Your daddy will be back soon Willie. He had to work." Navi said.

Willie sniffed, and tears leaked out of his eyes and spilled onto his cheeks. Navi choked, and tears started to build up in her eyes as Willie said.

"I want Daddy! When Daddy come home?" Navi bit her lip and flew up in front of Willie.

"Willie, you daddy will be home soon, he has work to do. He'll be home as soon as soon as he can," she said. Willie sniffed and nodded.

"Com' on Willie, let's go build Navi a huggggggge castle." Navi said, Willie nodded and walked over to his blocks. Navi followed him, her heart aching for this little boy who missed his father.

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"This way Hero of time!" the guard said to Link, Link raced after the guard as he led him towards the northern part of the marketplace. The stench of blood was in the air, making Link cringe from the awful smell.

As Link ran into the marketplace, his heart fell; bodies were everywhere. But from the look of most of the wounds, 90 percent of the people lying on the ground weren't dead.

"Quick! Over there!" The guard shouted, Link tore his eyes away from the bodies and looked up.

People were everywhere, screaming and trying to get away from whatever was causing the chaos.

Several cloaked figures were standing by one of the shops. Link quickly counted ten of them. One of the figures was speaking to the owner of the store, pointing to the bag as the owner started shoving rupees into the bag. The rest were grabbing as many people as they could and smashing their swords into the back of their heads.

One of the figures spotted Link and pointed at him, yelling at his companions. The rest of them stopped what they were doing at looked at where their companion was pointing. Seeing Link, they started to panic, they had heard of his reputation as the hero of time, and weren't anxious to meet him.

Link drew the master sword and started running, drawing his shield as well. One of the figures, the one that appeared to be the leader, pointed in the direction of the gate and drew his sword. The rest of the group started grabbing their bags and making a break for the exit. But Link wasn't going to let them escape. He raced in front of their path and held his sword up, his eyes narrowed menacingly. The nine that had tried to escape stopped in their path. They glanced around nervously, searching for another way to escape, but guards blocked the other ways.

"You're not going anywhere." Link said, smirking. The thieves began to panic; they were terrified of him. Link raced forward and smashed the hilt of the master sword into one of the thief's head. The thief crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Link raised the master sword to hit another but stopped as the tenth thief leaped over his companions and slashed at Link. Link barely managed to bring the master sword up in time as the leader smashed his sword down against Link's. Link leaped back, this was going to be a difficult battle.

The leader charged at Link, his sword raised high as he prepared to cut Link in half. Link met the thief half way and their swords clashed together. As the two struggled to over- power the other, the guards started to round up the other thieves. But the thieves weren't going that easily. They put up a humungous fight, their backs to one another as they slashed at the soldiers.

Meanwhile… Link succeeded in over powering the leader. He pushed the man back and slashed at his head, missing it by inches and cutting the man's shoulder instead.

The leader growled and glanced at his shoulder, which had begun to bleed heavily. Link grinned; he now had an advantage over his opponent. The man hissed at Link and slashed at him, hitting him in the arm and throwing him off balance. Link stumbled back, pain shooting up his arm as the wound began to bleed.

Link's opponent smirked; they were now even. (In his eyes anyway.) The lead thief raced at Link, Link raised his sword, ready for the blow. But instead of aiming for the blade, the thief aimed for the handle, knocking the master sword out of Link's hands and sending it hurtling across the clearing. Link's eyes widened in horror, he was defenseless, having dropped his shield earlier for easier combat. The thief began slashing at Link, forcing his to duck, jump and side-step to avoid getting hit.

After ten minutes of avoiding the sword, the thief managed to get a hit on Link. Link had twisted to avoid being hit by the man's sword. The man took advantage of Link's position and slashed him in the side.

Link cried out in pain and fell onto his back. The thief raised the sword over Link… ready to bring it down for the final blow.

The thief brought the sword down, but Link caught it with his hands and kept it from hitting him. The thief pressed down harder, Link struggled to keep the sword from killing him. So he quickly kicked the man in the chest and sent him tumbling to the ground.

Link quickly jumped to his feet and started to race towards the master sword, but the lead thief dove down and grabbed Link's foot. Link tripped and fell flat on his stomach. He glanced back and saw the thief smirking at him.

Link struggled to get to his feet, but the thief tripped him again. Link twisted around. He'd have to deal with the thief before he could get to his sword. He kicked the man in the face, breaking his nose. The thief let go of Link's foot with one hand and grabbed his nose as blood began pouring out of it. He grabbed his sword and slashed the back of Link's leg with it. Link cried out in pain and glanced back at his foe.

The man was holding onto his bleeding nose with one hand and Link's foot with the other. Link delivered another kick to the thief's face before yanking his bleeding leg out of the thief's grasp. He jumped up and raced over to the master sword while the thief pulled himself to his feet, blood pouring out of his wounds. (Thief-shoulder, broken nose, Link- shoulder, side, leg, all of his wounds are bleeding too.)

Both of them had lost a lot of blood, and both were exhausted.

Never-the-less, Link charged at the thief, the thief made an effort to block Link's attack with his sword, but he had lost too much blood and was too weak. Link slashed the thief in the chest, and the thief's body fell to the ground. Around them, the nine other thieves were still fighting, but the stopped at the sight of their lifeless leader.

Link stepped away from the thief's body, panting as he turned to face the other thieves.

"Now, who's next?" he said. The other thieves looked terrified as Link slowly advanced on them, little did they realize Link was backing them into a corner. And when they did realize it, it was too late. Soldiers surrounded them and hauled them off to the dungeons, where they would stand trial for the crimes they had committed.

As for Link, he was so tired he could barely stand, and as the soldiers took away the dead thief's body he fell to the ground and fainted.

**Don't bother asking me what Pifiny means, I have no idea. I was talking to Chaosmaiden07 on the phone when I was typing this and she suggested it. So I decided to do it.**

**Oh... I kind of need girl names, I kind of want a name that starts with K, I was thinking about Kari, but I used that name in my other story... hm...**

**I also am thinking about doing a sequel. but I'd have to think about it...**

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**

**Anime Wildfire**


	4. the king's plan

**Alright, chapter 4 here, I was going to post this yesterday on Christmas eve, but didn't get home on time, so I'm posting it today! On christmas day!**

**This chapter is really going to shake things up, I have a feeling you are all going to hate me after this chapter! But don't worry, the next chapter will be posted soon. Oh, and check out my profile, one of my reviews had a really good question, but they didn't leave an email to reply to, so I answered it in my profile. I suggest reading it, it really helps clear thing up a bit.**

**Read and Review! See you next chapter!**

**Anime Wildfire**

_Willie…_

Link groaned and opened his eyes to see a woman staring down at him.

"Ah!" Link shot up and backed away from her; she started laughing.

"Sorry there, I didn't mean to scare you." She said. Link just stared at her, one eyebrow raised.

"Come back over here, you need to relax. Those are some nasty wounds you've got there." The woman said.

"Where am I?" Link said as he sat back down on the bed. The woman grinned at him.

"You're at Mary's bed and breakfast inn!" she said proudly. "Some soldiers brought you over last night after you stopped those thieves. That was mighty brave of you."

Link rubbed his head and glanced around. "How long have I been here?" he asked.

"Why, you've been here all night!" the woman said. Link's eyes opened wide.

"Willie!" he said, the woman, whom he assumed to be Mary, frowned.

"Who's Willie?" she asked, Link jumped to his feet, and noticing he wasn't wearing his tunic, grabbed it from the chair by his bed and pulled it on.

"Willie's my son. I'm sorry, I have to go." Link said, grabbing the master sword and his shield from the corner.

"Oh, well you be careful from now on!" Mary said. Whistling as she went back to doing her chores.

Link nodded and raced out the door. "Bye now!" Mary called after him.

Link raced through the streets, knowing he was going to receive a lecture. He raced towards his house, slowing down as be got close because his wounds had reopened and were starting to bleed.

Link opened the door of his house. Navi and Willie were playing with Willie's blocks. As soon as Navi saw him, she flew right up to his face.

"Link! Where have you been?! Don't you know you've been driving me and Willie insane with worry?! What took you so long?!" Navi shouted, her hands on her hips.

"I'm sorry Navi, I got hurt fighting those thieves, and fell unconscious. I woke up only a few minutes ago." Link said, Navi's face fell.

"Are you ok? You're not hurt are you?" She asked; Link clenched his teeth.

"Yeah Navi, I am hurt. But I had to get home and see you and Willie." He said. Navi bit her lip, suddenly feeling bad about yelling at Link when he was injured so badly.

"Link, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get all upset. I was just worried about you since you didn't come back last night." Navi said. Standing on Link's shoulder. Link grinned at her.

"It's ok Navi, I understand." He said. He glanced over at Willie and saw his son staring at him.

"He's been waiting for you to get home ever since you left." Navi said, "He even cried a little bit, nut I managed to distract him with his blocks." Link bit his lip, realizing how much his son missed him. He limped over to Willie.

"Hey Willie, I'm sorry I didn't come home last night, there was just a little… problem, where I work." Link said. Willie smiled at him and reached his arms out to Link. Link grinned and hugged his son, thoughts of Zelda coming to his mind.

Navi made Link take it easy for a while week, Link didn't mind too much, it gave him a break from his job as the hero of time and allowed him to spend some time with Willie. He took the boy fishing, shopping, riding on Epona, and just spent time with him. Willie loved it all, especially the shopping in Hyrule market place. (He definitely takes after Zelda.)

He was curious as to why many of the villagers came up to Link and thanked him with tears in their eyes or begged him for his autograph. Link just laughed and picked Willie up, swinging him up on his shoulder.

After a while Willie wanted down, and as soon as Link set him down he would run over to one of the stands and show Link whatever it was he saw. Link just grinned at his son, happiness swelling up inside him at the joy in Willie's eyes.

A few minutes later, the sound of trumpets filled the air, and all the people turned their heads to see what all the commotion was about.

Princess Zelda was passing through, on her way out for a while with her husband, and as she gazed over the crowd, she spotted Link and Willie at the back of the crowd. Link was holding Willie so he could see everything that was happening, and Zelda's heart filled with pain, as well as longing. She wanted so badly to jump out of the carriage and rush over to Link and her son, to kiss Link and hold her son for the first time in a year. (The last time she saw him was on his 2nd birthday, every year she snuck away for his birthday.)

Instead she bit her lip, trying hard to keep her tears from falling. Her husband gripped her arm, checking to be sure she was ok. Zelda shrugged him off. Her husband was a kind man, but all he cared about was her beauty and her throne. And Zelda disliked him because of it. She glanced back one more time to get one last look at Link and Willie before the carriage disappeared around the corner, and Zelda couldn't see them anymore.

Link took a deep breath, the pain he has seen in Zelda's eyes was enough to make Link want to cry. He glanced at Willie; he was watching the direction the carriage had gone, a smile on his face from seeing the beautiful horses that pulled the carriage. He had no idea that his mother was the princess of Hyrule, and Link intended to keep it that way.

--------------------------

That night, several solders knocked on Link's door, they handed him a note, sealed with the royal family's crest. As soon as the soldiers were gone Link opened the letter. Navi sat on his shoulder and read silently to herself.

You have been requested for an audience with his royal highness the king of Hyrule, tomorrow at noon. You are also requested to bring your son as well.

_Sincerely, his royal highness, the king of Hyrule._

"Link, what's this all about?" Navi said once she'd finished reading the note.

"I honestly don't know Navi, but what puzzles me is why they want me to bring Willie along." Link said, he glanced back down at the note.

"But it I can't ignore it, that would only get us into trouble. So tomorrow we'll go to the castle for the audience with the king." Link said. Navi nodded.

"Ok Link, but I'm coming with you. I'm not letting you and Willie have all the fun." She said, and Link couldn't help but grin. He stood up and made his way up the steps to Willie's room. He opened the door a crack and glanced inside.

Willie was fast asleep, his thumb in his mouth, a habit he had picked up when he was a baby. Navi flew into his room and hovered near the door.

"Good night Link, get lots of sleep tonight. You'll need all your energy for when you meet the king tomorrow." She said, she waved and flew up into her little room. Link grinned back and closed the door to Willie's room before heading down the hallway to his room for a well-deserved night's rest.

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The next morning, Link told Willie they were going somewhere special. Willie was all excited and started laughing, his big blue eyes shining with delight.

At noon, Link took Willie to Hyrule castle, dressed in his usual green tunic and floppy hat. The master sword and his shield strapped to his back. Navi slipped into his hat until they reached the castle.

"Weapons." One of the guards said as Link approached the door, Link set Willie down and removed his hookshot, fairy bow, bombs, Deku nuts any other weapons he had on him, they even made him leave the master sword and his shield.

The guards nodded as he dropped the last of his weapons onto the pile by their feet and opened the door. Although some of them looked impressed at all his weapons. Willie followed Link as he led him inside, right into the main throne room, right where the king himself, was waiting. (Where he keeps those weapons I'll never know.)

"Link… welcome back." The king said, the look on his face said he'd rather Link wasn't there at all.

"It's good to be back." Link said in the exact same tone, a grin on his face. The king narrowed his eyes at him and leaned forward on his throne.

"I bet your wonder why you're here Link." He said, his chin on his hands.

"Yes your highness." Link said, next to him, Willie reached up and took his hand, his thumb back in his mouth, something he did when he was nervous or afraid. (And asleep.)

"And who might this young boy be?" the king asked, his gaze turned to Willie. Link glanced down at him.

"This is my son, Willie." Link said. His gaze moved back to the king. "And Zelda's son as well." He said smugly. The king snorted, but Link could tell he'd hit a nerve.

"That's exactly what I wished to speak to you about Link." He said, "You see, princess Zelda is having a difficult time conceiving." He said.

"What does that have to do with me and Willie?" Link said, though he had a feeling he already knew. The king smirked.

"You see Link, if Zelda cannot produce heirs any heirs, then that leaves Willie as the only heir to the throne." The king said. Link picked Willie up.

The king glanced to the right and flicked his wrist. Several guards came in the room.

"Zelda can't have any more children?" Link said, the king nodded as the soldiers moved around Link and Willie.

Suddenly, one of the guards pulled Willie from Link; the rest of them grabbed Link and started to pull him towards the door.

"What are you doing?!" Link said, he struggled to break free, and several more guards had to grab onto him.

"I'm afraid you will no longer be raising Willie." The king said.

"Daddy!" Willie cried, tears pouring down his face as he reached towards Link.

"Daddy! Help me!" he called, causing Link to struggle harder.

"Let me go! Don't do this!" Link cried; the king only smirked. "It's better this way Link, Willie will be educated as a prince, and you can go back to being the hero of time and saving the land. Good day." He said, following the guards as they took the sobbing Willie away from his father.

"No! Willie!" Link cried. He tried to break free, but the guards had a strong hold on him. They finally managed the throw him out, but they had needed 16 guards to do so. They threw his weapons after him, and closed the door in his face.

Link jumped to his feet and slammed his fists against the door.

"Willie! Willie!" he cried, but to no avail. He leaned against the door and sank to the ground.

"Link, What happened?" Navi asked as she flew out of his hat, it wasn't everyday you found Link on the verge of tears.

"The king took Willie away, he said Zelda isn't able to have children anymore, and that left Willie as the only heir to the throne." Link choked.

"Oh no." Navi said, she floated over to Link's shoulder. "Link, we have to rescue Willie! You're the hero of time, use all your skills to get your son back!" she said, Link stood up.

"You're right Navi, I have to rescue Willie." Link said, he picked up all of his weapons and returned them to his tunic.

"Navi, will you sneak into the castle and see if you can find Willie? He needs you more than I do right now." Link said. Navi nodded.

"Of course Link. I'll see if I can find Willie." She said, she flew up towards one of the open windows and flew inside.

"Hold on Willie, I'm coming." Link said, his face filled with determination as he prepared to save his son.

**Ah! don't hate me! Blame the king! I told you this chapter would shake things up! **

**Have a very merry Christmas and watch for the next chapter of _Link's hardships._ Coming soon!**

**Anime Wildfire**


	5. Rescuing Willie part 1

**Alright! Here's the next chapter. I feel so loved, pver 25 reviews and over 600 hits! I never thought this story would be so popular! I am also planning a sequel for this story! But before I can begin typing it, I need the name for a girl, I think I said that the last chapter. You see, I will be introducing a few new characters, so I need some names!**

**I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter, this is part one of three, so expect the next one soon! This chapter was sooooo fun to write!**

**Please review! Well, you don't have to if you don't want to, but I would greatly appreciate it! T****ill next time!**

**Anime Wildfire**

Inside the castle, the guards were taking three-year-old Willie to a bedroom the king had prepared especially for him. Complete with a lock on the door.

The guards released Willie and stepped back as the king, Willie's grandfather, stepped into the room.

"This is your new home Willie. You won't be seeing your father any more. It's best if you forgot about him anyway." The king said, he left the room, instructing the guards to lock the door behind him.

Willie wiped the tears from his eyes. He was very scared, he'd never been in a castle before, and he'd certainly never been taken away by guards before.

So he crawled over to the window seat in the corner, looking out the window and sucking his thumb as he muttered over and over, "daddy."

"Do you miss your daddy little one?" a voice said, Willie turned to see Impa standing in the doorway. He instantly cowered away from her.

"Daddy! Daddy help me! I'm scared!" he said, Impa walked slowly towards him, trying hard not to scare him.

"It's ok little one, I'm going to help you get back to your daddy." She said. Impa may be loyal to the king, be she was even more loyal to Zelda and Link and knew how much Link loved his son.

"Willie! Willie are you ok?" a voice said, both Impa and Willie looked surprised as a little blue ball appeared in front of them, hovering in front of Willie.

"Navi!" he said, he grabbed her and hugged her tightly, practically squishing her.

"I… told… Link… he could… squish me… but no… he didn't… listen." Navi gasped, finally Willie let her go. He started sucking his thumb. Navi hovered in front of him and Impa.

"Navi? Is that you?" Impa said, "Impa?!" Navi said. Impa nodded.

"Wow! Impa! I can't believe it's you!" Navi said, Impa smiled. "If you're here, that must mean Link is close by!" Impa said, hurrying over to the window to see if he was hiding somewhere.

"No, it's just me. Link sent me up here to find Willie and make sure he's ok. Poor Link, he's devastated. Willie's all he has left of Zelda, and he misses him badly." Navi said. Impa crossed back over, Navi turned to Willie.

"Poor baby, are you ok Willie? Daddy sent me up here to see if you're ok." Navi said, Willie perked up at that.

"Daddy coming?" he said, Navi nodded. "Daddy's coming to save you." She said. She glanced up at Impa.

"Link will need my help, Navi, you stay with Willie. You should also know, Zelda knows nothing of this, her father planned to have her away while this was happening." Impa said. Navi nodded.

"I'll stay here with Willie." Impa nodded and headed out the door, she was going to help Link get Willie back if it took all her power to do so.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Link stared up at the ivy-covered wall, trying to think of the best way to sneak in. He could take the secret passage way all the way to the kitchen and then find Willie from there, or he could sneak in through the courtyard like he did when he was younger, or he could scale the wall and sneak in through the balcony on the second floor…

Link frowned; he wasn't sure which plan to go with. He didn't even know where they had Willie, much less what floor he was on.

My best guess is to scale the wall up to the balcony on the second floor. Link thought as he made his way towards the balcony. He pulled out his hookshot and was about to fire when he heard a voice in the bushes.

"Link! Link come here! Quick!" the voice said, Link recognized the speaker as Impa. So he headed over to the bushes.

"Impa? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"There's no time to explain." Impa said, "they have Willie in a room on the north side of the castle, on the second floor. You'll have to sneak all the way through the castle to get there. And Zelda's father has extra guards all over! He's expecting you to try and rescue Willie! You must be very careful not to be seen! If any of the guards see you they'll alert to whole castle!" Impa said. Link nodded,

"Well get going!" Impa snapped, she glanced behind her.

"You must hurry, I think some of the guards are coming this way, remember what I told you. Head up the balcony, and Willie's in the north side of the castle, on the second floor. Now hurry!"

Link pulled his hookshot out and aimed for the wall, he pressed the trigger and went flying up just as several guards came around the corner. Link pressed back against the wall as the guards shone a light up by the balcony.

The left after a minute, convinced that Link was not there. Link breathed a sigh of relief and stepped away from the wall. He glanced around the room.

Apparently this room was some kind of office, for there was a large desk in the middle of the room and bookcases all over as well.

Link was heading for the door when he suddenly heard voices coming closer.

"-Guard outside my door, I don't want that sorry excuse for a hero murdering me." A voice said, Link smacked his forehead. He was in the king's study!

Link glanced around, looking for a place to hide, the doorknob twisted…

And the king stepped into the room, he glanced around his office. No one was there.

Satisfied that he was alone, the king of Hyrule crossed over to his desk and sat down, examining the papers on the desk.

Link crouched as far away from the king as he could. He had hidden underneath the king's desk, and he was beginning to regret that decision now.

The king stretched his feet out, and Link had to scrunch up against the back of the desk to avoid the king's legs bumping him.

Link held his breath, sweat dripping down his face. Finally, the king moved his feet back, and Link let out a sigh of relief.

The king stopped, he could have sworn he heard someone sigh just now. Confused, he removed his glasses and moved over to the window, glancing down he saw several soldiers patrolling and decided it must have been them.

Link, meanwhile, was about to sneak out when the king moved back over and sat in his chair. Squishing Link's hand against the desk.

Link's grit his teeth and tried to keep from crying out. The king finally moved, and Link pulled his hand back, blowing on it and shooting a glare at the king.

Suddenly, he noticed something by his feet. A paperweight. An idea suddenly popped into Link's head. He picked the paperweight up, tossed it up and down in his hand for a minute, then threw it towards the window. The weight hit the side of the castle and made a huge clanking noise. The king immediately jumped up and raced over to the window, peering out of it.

Link snuck out from under the desk, he pointed at the king, narrowed his eyes, and mouthed something that looked like, 'you are so dead when I get my son back.'

The king started muttering to himself about 'reckless noises.' Link's eyes widened and snuck over to the door, slipped out and slowly closed the door behind him right before the king turned around.

"Strange, here I am all alone and yet I still feel like I'm being watched, I need to hire more guards…"

Link breathed a sigh of relief and glanced around, the hallway was empty. He was alone.

Link snuck over to one of the statues, his stealth skills kicking in. He was about to glance around the corner when he heard footsteps coming in his direction. He quickly slipped back into the shadows behind the castle just as a maid came around the corner. She was carrying a tray full of food. She knocked on the door and placed the food in front of it.

Link drew his sword; maybe he could capture the girl and use her to lead him to his son. He was about to jump out when there was a cry of "Mama!" And a little girl came running down the hallway. Link stopped, his sword drawn as the woman held out her arms and caught the little girl in a hug. Link put his sword back. He couldn't do it. So he decided to get her help in a different way.

"Don't scream, just tell me where my son is." He said, stepping from the shadows. The woman saw him, and her eyes filled with terror as she clutched the little girl to her.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. I just need directions." Link said. The woman relaxed, but only slightly.

"You're the one all the soldiers are looking for." She said. Link nodded. "Yes, now can you please tell me where my son is?" he said.

"What do you want?" the woman asked, backing up against the wall. Link stared at her, a blank expression on his face.

"My son. I want my son." He said. At the mention of Willie, the woman relaxed.

"Why are you sneaking around to find your son?" she asked, Link glanced around and moved down the hallway where no one could hear him.

"The king took my son away from me. Please, all I'm looking for is my son." He said. The woman bit her lip, trying to decide if she should help him or not.

"Please, just imagine how sad you would be if your little girl was taken." Link said, nodding at the girl next to her. The woman nodded.

"Ok, I'll tell you where he is." She said, Link look relieved. "Thank you." He said.

"You know, you're not as bad as the king said you were." The woman said, she shook her head, "anyway, to find your son. Just head north, you'll find his room at the very end of the gold hallway." She said. Link nodded,

"Thanks." he said. He began to sneak down the hallway.

"Be careful, they might have guards by his room." The maid said to Link, Link nodded to show he'd heard and continued on his way.

"Good luck." The maid whispered as she watched him go.

**I hope everyone likes Navi's personality in this story, I know most people think she is annoying, and I admit, she can be sometimes, but I also think she can be used for comedy as well, which is what I'm aiming for with her.**

**And FYI, I can't type any more chapters until I get the right girls name, but not to worry, I have the next few chapters ready to be posted as soon as I think you've waited long enough or until I can't wait any longer. He he,**

**See you next chapter!**

**Anime Wildfire**


	6. Rescuing Willie part 2

**YES! I'm so syched! This story has almost 1,000 hits and over 30 reviews! That makes me excited! Oh, and I think I'm just going to use the name Kari, I know it's the name I used in my other story... but what can I say? I like that name. Thanks to all the reviewers that suggested names for me! I really appreciated it!**

**Anyway, read and enjoy this next chapter! Now that I have the name, I can start on the sequel and finish writing the story!**

**See you all later! Review**

**Anime Wildfire**

Link carefully snuck into one of the rooms, which he instantly recognized as the throne room, the same room he had last seen Willie in.

Link heard voices coming closer, so he quickly ducked behind the king's throne, not even daring to see where the person, or persons, were.

"-Quiet thing-"

"Shouldn't we be-"

"What?"

"Shouldn't we being looking for that boy's father? Link, the hero of time?" one of the men said.

"Nah, it's not like he's in this room right now or anything. Now of the other guards have seen so much as a wink of him. Maybe he even decided not to rescue his son. Yep, he recognized my talents as a soldier and ran away scared! That's what it is!" The guard boasted confidently. Link rolled his eyes from behind the throne and waited until sir boast-a-lot and his friend left the room. The he stealthily slipped out from behind the throne and made his way towards the gold hallway.

Just as the maid had said, there were guards in front of Willie's room, there was only two of them, and Link knew he could take them easily, but he also knew the noise would bring every soldier in the castle running.

_Hm… maybe I should… no wait! I've got it_! Link thought, reaching for his bow, he pulled out two ice arrows. He aimed one at each of the guards and…

Freeze! The two guards froze in place, unable to move. Link grinned to himself and headed down the hallway. The guard's eyes flickered in his direction, their faces completely frozen in a look of surprise. Link saluted them and tried to open the door. It was locked. A graceful kick and the door cracked. Link shoved it aside and stepped into the room.

"Link!" A voice cried, and a small blue blur flew over to Link, hugging his cheek with all her might.

"Long time no see Navi." Link said, grinning.

"DADDY!" a voice shouted, Link turned to see Willie running straight for him. Link opened his arms and hugged his son, a single tear running down his cheek.

"Um, I'd hate to break up this little reunion, but we really need to get out of here before the guards unfreeze." Navi said, pointing to the guards in front of Willie's door.

"Navi's right." Link said, he stood up. "Com' on you two, we've got to get out of here." He said. He picked Willie up and headed out, Willie waved to the guards as they left.

"So Link, how exactly are you planning on getting us out of here?" Navi whispered, standing on Link's shoulder.

"I have no idea Navi, I'm thinking this up as I go along." Link replied, making his way back to the throne room, Willie cuddled against his shoulder.

"Maybe you should try going out the way you came in?" Navi suggested. Link winced, through his mind flashed the king, his crushed hand, avoiding the king's feet, the maid, and sneaking through the whole castle.

"That's not gonna happen Navi." Link said, "Well you'd better think fast- someone's coming!" Navi said, pointing to the floor. Sure enough, a shadow was moving in their direction. Link glanced around and spotted a door to his left. He raced over and snuck inside seconds before one of the guards walked around the corner.

"Link! What is this room! I can't see a thing!" Navi whispered. "Shhhh!" Link hissed, setting Willie down and pressing his ear to the door. Willie copied him.

Link grinned down at his, then concentrated on listening, nothing.

"Ok Navi, it's safe, I was afraid there might have been someone outside the door." Link said.

"I listen!" Willie said, pressing his ear to the door just like he has seen Link do.

Link grinned and ruffled Willie's blonde hair. "Again, I'd hate to break this up, but we gotta get out of here." Navi said, sitting on Willie's shoulder.

Link nodded, "you're right Navi, we need to concentrate on getting out of here." He started looking around.

"I just have no idea where we are." He said, Navi rolled her eyes, then her face lit up.

"Don't you have a Deku stick?" she asked, flying up so she was hovering next to Link's face.

"Good idea Navi, just one problem, what do I light it with?" Link said. Navi rolled her eyes again.

"Link, use your head. You have Din's fire don't you?" she said. Link nodded.

"Well then use it to light a Deku stick!" Navi said, waving her arms.

"I can't. I might her you and Willie." Link said,

"We could hide behind your shield." Navi said, Link's face brightened up.

"That just might work!" he said. He carried Willie next to the wall and slipped his shield off his back. He propped it against the wall and made a little shelter-like thing. Navi flew under it with Willie.

Link pulled out A Deku stick and Din's fire. Then he used Din's fire; luckily Navi and Willie were under Link's shield and were spared from the flames.

Link put Din's fire away, the Deku stick burning brightly. He slipped his shield onto his back and helped Willie up.

"Let's go you two." He said, he started walking deeper into the room. There was a lot of old furniture around the room. Navi landed on a desk and started sneezing from all the dust. She decided to retreat to Link's shoulder after that.

"I remember this room now." Link said. Navi looked up brightly. "You do?" she said. Link nodded.

"Yeah, this is where Zelda and I used to meet, her father couldn't know about our marriage, or he'd break us up. So we'd come here, this was the only place we could see each other without our marriage being exposed. Whenever we saw each other around the castle, we had to pretend we weren't married. This was the only place we could meet as a husband and wife." Link said. (Don't get any ideas you perverts! Their relationship isn't like that! They mostly just spent time together, reading, talking, playing chess, and maybe a little kissing. But mostly just enjoying each other's company.)

"You used to meet her in this dump?" Navi said in disbelief, wrinkling her nose. Link rolled his eyes.

"Of course not. There's a hidden room in the back." Link said. He walked past the mountains of furniture until he reached the fireplace at the end of the room. Touching one of the bricks, the back slid up and Link was able to go in, followed by Willie of course.

On the other side of the fireplace was a large room. There was a sofa in the middle of the room facing another fireplace, bookshelves lined one of the walls, and a chess table with dusty pieces sat near the bookshelves, along with two chairs pressed against the wall, a torch between them and a few dusty blankets on the chairs.

"What a cozy little room!" Navi exclaimed, she flew around the room.

"I can just imagine the two of you meeting here, oh it's so romantic!" she said. Willie walked over to the fireplace, where a picture of Link and Zelda was sitting on the top.

"Daddy! What dat?" he said, pointing to the picture. Link walked over and picked Willie up.

"That's me Willie, me and you mother." He said. "Mommy?" Willie said, pointing to Zelda. Link nodded.

"That picture of us was taken at a festival, Zelda and I had snuck out so her father couldn't know. While we were walking around, a man offered to take our picture. We had a copy made of it two. One Zelda has, and this is the original." Link said to Navi after she's flown over.

"You both look so happy in that picture." Navi said. Link nodded. He turned around and glanced around the room. Memories of the two of them swelled up inside him.

"Hey Link, how are we going to get out of here?" Navi asked, plopping down on Willie's long hair, her chin in her hands.

"Don't worry Navi, there's a secret passage in this room, it leads out to the soldier's quarters." Link said, "honestly, how'd you think I got in here to meet Zelda?"

Link put Willie down and walked over to the bookshelf on the far left side of the room. He pulled out one of the books and the bookshelf slid to the side, revealing a large, dark tunnel.

"We have to go down that tunnel?" Navi said, Link nodded. "Yep, don't worry about it though, I went down this tunnel hundreds of times." Link said. Navi glared it him.

"Ok, so it was more like 90 times. Hey, can't a guy exaggerate a little bit?" Link said, shrugging his shoulders and heading down the tunnel with Willie. Navi glanced behind her, not so sure if she wanted to go into the creepy tunnel. But the sight of Link leaving without her changed her mind, and she sped after them.

"Hey Link, where did you say this tunnel ended?" Navi asked ten minutes later.

"It ends by the soldier's quarters, so we'll have to be real careful when we sneak out." Link said,

"Good luck with that." Navi muttered to herself. Willie had fallen asleep against Link's shoulder, his little hand clutching Link's tunic.

Navi sat next to Willie's head on Link's shoulder and sighed. "Aw, he's so cute." She said before she cuddled up against Link's neck and fell asleep.

Link grinned at both Willie and Navi, and continued until he reached the end of the tunnel.

The sun was still high in the sky, and Link knew he's have to be careful in order to not get caught. As he stepped out of the tunnel, he noticed immediately that there weren't any guards around. He sighed from relief.

Link stealthy crept along the outer wall, keeping an eye out for any guards coming his way. Just as he was about to climb over some vines near the edge of the garden, and voice said.

"Don't move." Link turned around, and noticed it was the same soldier from the throne room, the one that boasted that Link was scared of him.

"I'm turning you in, then I'll be a big hero, and then the king will be so grateful that he'll insist that I become one of his high ranking knights." The man boasted, drawing his sword and pointing it at Link.

Link rolled his eyes and laid Willie and Navi down under a tree before drawing the master sword and facing the soldier.

"I knew you'd come, I knew you wouldn't be able to resist saving that boy. Mr. thinks-he's-a-big-hero. I'm gonna out you in your place." The man said,

"But in the throne room, I could have sworn you said that I wasn't coming to rescue my son, and that I was too scared to show up. What do you think now?" Link said with a grin.

"How would you know what I said in the-" the man's mouth closed when he realized what Link was saying.

"You… the throne room…" he stuttered. Link grinned again.

"Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to fight me?" Link said. The soldier bared his teeth and leaped at Link, his sword raised high. Link easily blocked the attack and unbalanced the man, causing him to stumble and fall.

Link took a step away from the man, he didn't want to hurt him unless absolutely necessary. The man pulled himself to his feet and glared at Link. He raised his sword and charged at Link again, Link braced himself for and easy block, but was surprised when the man struck him with such force that he flew back and slammed into the wall, creating an indent.

The soldier smirked, Link pulled himself off the wall and stepped forward, rolling his arm, one hand on his shoulder.

"I don't want to hurt you." Link said, moving into a stance that clearly showed he was ready for battle.

"Hurt me! Ha! You couldn't hurt a fly if it was right in front of you!" the man taunted, he was trying to get Link wired up, and it was working.

Link grit his teeth and tried to keep his cool, but the man was push his patience.

"People say you're so high and might, just because you're the hero of time!" the man said, continuing his taunting. Not a good idea.

Link charged at the man, his sword crashing into the soldier's and sending it flying twenty feet into the air until hit a tree and fell to the ground. He had pushed Link's patience far enough; he got Link mad, very mad. The man turned back to face Link, his eyes filled with Terror.

Link's eyes were like ice; he raised his sword high in the air. The man dropped to his knees, pleading for his life. But Link wasn't that cruel. He brought the back of his sword to the back of the man's head, knocking him unconscious. Link dragged him over to the bushes and hid them there. Glancing over towards Willie and Navi, he was they had woken up and were watching him. The noise must have woken them up, although Willie still looked tired. And as soon as Link picked him up he fell back asleep against Link's shoulder, but this time his hand clutched the tip of Link's green hat.

"Com' on Navi, let's get out of here." Link said, Navi nodded and Link climbed over the wall and dropped to the other side. He didn't have to sneak much to get to the gate- most the soldiers were in the castle looking for him.

Link managed to get back to his house without being spotted by any guards; the king hadn't thought to have guards at Link's house. (He figured he's never even get out of the castle, ha! Shows what he knows.)

"Navi, we have to move." Link said, laying Willie down on the couch. The boy was still sleeping.

"Where are we gonna go?" Navi asked, sitting on the top of the block castle she and Willie had made.

"We can't leave Hyrule market place, that's exactly what the king expects us to do. We can stay in the city and move to another part of the market place, I heard the south side is really nice…" Link said.

"I don't understand, why not just move to Kokiri forest or Kakariko village?" Navi said,

"That's what the king expects us to go. He thinks he knows me well; he thinks I'd take Willie and go straight to Kokiri forest, but he's wrong. He'll send his men looking all over Hyrule looking for us, and the while time we'll be right under his nose!" Link said. Navi grinned.

"I like it, so when do we move?" she asked. "As soon as possible." Link said glancing down at the sleeping form of Willie.

**Next chapter! Willie's new friend! Also, in this story, Hyrule has a school, if you can't imagine it, I'll try and explain it a little better, but right now I can'y think of anything to say. I also haven't gotten the Wii yet, and I go back to school January 2... life really stinks sometimes...**

**Anime Wildfire**


	7. Willie's new friend

**Ok, first off, I'm rrrrrreeeeeaaaallllyyyyy sorry about taking so long, I had a bunch of homework due. This chapter is gonna be fun! Three more characters will be added! I'm planning on focasing more into Willie's teen years (once we get there) And I finally picked a name, being the lazy person I am, I just decided to go with Kari. Although the name Lily was very tempting...**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter! Review!**

**Anime Wildfire**

Chapter 7 Willie's new friend

It was three years after Link and Willie had moved, the king had given up looking for them a year ago. But all the soldiers were told to keep watch for them, just in case.

Willie was now a mischievous, and adventurous 6-year-old. He was just like Link, always getting into trouble, although his excuse was usually that he didn't go looking for trouble, trouble usually finds HIM.

Link never believes him. Willie was also old enough to start school, something Link was not looking forward too, he would miss Willie too much, but Navi convinced him that it was best for Willie. It also gave him more time for his 'hero work.' Willie still didn't know his father was the hero of time, and he had no idea what his father's job was either, and Link intended to keep it that way.

Princess Zelda still hadn't had any children, but her father insisted on keeping his hopes up, refusing to accept the fact that Zelda would probably not have another child, and that Willie was lucky to even have been born.

"Dad! Dad! Wake up!" A voice said, Link opened his eye and saw the face of 6-year-old Willie staring down at him.

"Come on dad! Get up!" Willie said, shaking Link's shoulder. Link yawned and pulled the covers off himself.

"Alright, alright, I'm up already." Link said. Willie grinned and raced out of the room. The minute he was gone, Link flopped back down on the bed and pulled the covered over his bare shoulders. (He only sleeps in his breeches…) Within a minute he was fast asleep.

The truth was, Link had been out late last night dealing with a several wolfo's that had been attacking anyone who left Hyrule market place. He hadn't gotten home until 2:30 in the morning, resulting in less sleep.

But Link wasn't going to be sleeping for long. Upon his father failing to follow him, Willie went back into his father's room and saw his father had gone back to sleep.

Grinning mischievously, Willie snuck behind Link, took a deep breath, and yelled…

"WAKE UP!" Link jerked up, blinking as he turned to Willie.

"What's the matter? Can't anyone get sleep in anymore?" Link said, yawning. Willie grinned, the same mischievous grin Link had when he was young.

"Com' on Link! You can do it! Remember, it's Willie's first day at school!" Navi said, flying into the room. Link groaned and pulled the covers off; Willie gave an excited jump and raced out of the room. Link grinned at his enthusiasm and pulled on a clean white undershirt and green tunic. Then he followed Navi into the kitchen.

Willie was already sitting at the table, wearing a clean green tunic. (Sorry, I'm so pathetic, I can't think of anything else for him to wear, so he'll just wear tunics.)

Link yawned and pulled a jar of milk out of the fridge, (I'm assuming they have a fridge.) then he pulled the lid off and started drinking the milk right out of the bottle.

"Link!" Navi scolded, her hands on her hips. "Don't drink out of the bottle! You're setting a bad example for Willie!" she snapped. Link recapped the bottled and stuck it back in the fridge. He sat next to Willie.

"So, do you have everything Willie?" he said, Willie nodded. "Yup! Even my lunch is packed!" he said, proudly showing Link the lunch he had packed on his own. Link took the lunchbox and opened it, trying hard not to laugh at what was inside.

Willie had packed himself five cookies, milk, and some fudge the old lady that lived down the street had given Link after he had rescued her cat. (She also had fun flirting with him, poor Link. Even now he has woman chasing him.)

Link shook his head and unpacked Willie's lunch, instead packing him two cookies, an apple, a sandwich and the jar of milk.

"What time does school start?" Link asked,

"It starts at nine. Try not to forget that!" Navi said, smacking her hand to her forehead.

Link nodded and stood up; Willie followed him, Navi sitting on his shoulder as the three headed towards the school, which was only a few blocks away from their house.

The trio walked the whole way, (except for Navi, she hitched a ride on Willie's shoulder.)

By the time they reached the school, other parents had arrived to drop their own children off. Near Link and Willie, A woman was hugging a little girl with brown hair. And near them a man was straightening his son's shirt.

Link knelt down at Willie's height. "You ready?" he asked, Willie nodded, a huge grin on his face, causing Link to swell with pride. He had to admit, he was lucky to even have a son at all.

"Get going then." Link said, nodding in the direction of the school, Willie nodded and started walking, then hesitated, turned around and raced back to Link, hugging him. Link smiled at his son and hugged the boy tightly. Finally Willie let go and ran in the direction of the school, looking back one last time to wave at Link.

Link waved back and stood up. "He's growing up so fast." Navi said, sitting on Link's shoulder with her head in her hands.

"Yeah." Link said. "He's gonna have lots of girls after him, just like his dad." Navi said, grinning. Link blushed.

"Let's go home Navi, I need to go visit Epona, she probably misses riding all the time." Link said, heading towards the village stables. (Don't think I forgot about Epona! Well, I did but that's not the point!)

Navi followed, she liked Epona fine, but was never really very fond of her as Link was. The village stables were at the end of the street-like area. There were several people already in there. Feeding their horses and stroking them.

Epona's stall was at the end of the stable, her stall had a view of the pasture on the other side. (Yes, there is a pasture in the marketplace…)

Link gently stroked her and she whinnied happily. Link opened her stall door, ignoring the lead rope next to it and started walking towards the gate that led to the pasture. Epona followed him, much to everyone else's surprise. But then, Epona wasn't like most horses, she followed Link wherever he went.

Link let Epona in the pasture and watched her gallop around the area, her head tossed back and her mane blowing in the breeze.

After a while Link left, Epona wasn't at all ready to go back to her stall and Link couldn't hang around all day. But he knew one of the men that worked at the stable would put her back. So he left the stable and wandered around for a while, avoiding his fans and browsing the shops the people of Hyrule had set up.

"Link, you really need to so something, why don't you go to Kokiri forest and visit Saria for a while?" Navi said, hovering in front of Link's face.

"What about Willie?" Link said, Navi rolled her eyes. "Link, Willie won't be home for another five hours, you really need to take your mind off him for a while!" she said. Link sighed,

"You're right Navi, let's go visit Saria and the other Kokiri." Link said, he pulled out the ocarina of time and played the minuet of the forest. There was a flash of light and Link and Navi were standing at the forest temple.

Saria was delighted to see him, as well as the other Kokiri, all but one anyways; some rivals just don't go away. Link and Navi sound themselves having a great time with Saria, she asked them all kinds of questions, like how Willie was doing (of course) and how Epona was doing and where they were living and everything. Finally Link realized they had to get back or they would miss picking Willie up, so he and Navi warped to the temple of time and raced over to the schoolhouse.

Luckily for them, school was just getting out as thry arrived. And soon Link saw Willie race towards him, his eyes shining. Link caught the boy in a hug and the three began heading back to the house.

"so Willie, how was school today?" Link asked, Willie grinned at him, "it was great dad! I think I made a new friend!" he said.

"what makes you say that?" Navi asked, Willie grinned at her, "she threw her books at me!" he said proudly, pointing to the bruise on his cheek. Navi tried very hard not to laugh. (Ha ha, this part just popped into my head, it was sooo fun to write!)

"who's 'she?'" Navi asked, floating in front of Willie. "'she' is Kari, and 'she' is hopefully my new friend!" Willie said.

"do you mean Kari that lives across the street from us?" Link said, Willie nodded.

"yeah! She lives across the street from us with her sister and mother." Willie said. He rubbed his cheek where the bruise was.

"Willie, if she throws her books at you, that sounds to me like she doesn't like you." Navi said. Sitting on Willie's shoulder.

"No, she likes me." Willie said, he ran ahead of Navi and Link. Navi grinned at Link and sat on his shoulder.

"looks more like he likes her." She said as she and Link followed Willie inside.

Willie continued to go to school every day, except on weekends, and afternoons after school. Sometimes he and Link would go fishing, or practice sword fighting. When Willie was five, Link had made him a wooden training sword and had started training him. Willie loved it, he loved the thrill and excitement of the sword and practiced daily.

He also told Link and Navi about his 'friend' Kari, but to Link and Navi, it sounded like the girl would prefer NOT to be Willie's friend. From what Link knew, Kari lived across the street with her younger sister Kate and her mother, her mother was a seamstress, and she had fixed many of Link's clothes, as well as made clothes for Willie, and Link in return fixed things around her house whenever she needed it.

Kari was a very pretty girl, with naturally long reddish-brown hair the ended in waves at her waist. She had icy blue eyes that flashed like fire when she was angry, but could be as gentle as the sky when need be.

Her sister Kate was a year younger and had light blue eyes and dark brown hair that was always pulled back into a ponytail.

Their mother's name was Kendra. (about the K names, it'a a tradition in their family)

Kendra was a very sweet woman with dark brown hair and dark blue eyes. Like Kari, her eyes flashed like fire when angry, and like Kate, she always wore her hair in a ponytail.

Kendra's older sister often visited, bringing her daughter Katrina with her, Katrina looked nothing like her cousins, she had long blonde hair and bright brown eyes, her hair was naturally straight, but she always wore it in curls. (don't worry about Katrina for now, she'll appear more in the later chapters.)

Other than that, Link didn't know much about their family, and he tried to make sure they knew very little about Willie's family as well, Link didn't want anyone to know about Willie's royal blood.

When Kendra had asked him about Willie's heritage, Link said he was an orphan and that Willie's mother had died in childbirth. Kendra never pushed the matter after that, sensing how sore that topic was to Link.

"com' on dad! Let's go sword fight!"

Link glanced up from the door he was fixing, "I can't right now Willie, but wait a while, and we'll go to lake Hylia and practice." He said, (in case your wondering, Willie's the one that broke the door)

So Willie sat next to Link and watched him work, occasionaly passing him a tool or whatever else he needed. Trying to be as patient as possible, but hey, he's only six.

Finally Link finished fixing the door, and he and Willie headed for the stables, waving to Kendra as she passed by.

"dad, when can I get my own horse?" Willie asked as they made their way to the stables to get Epona. Link grinned down at him and ruffled his hair,

"when you get old enough to handle one." He said, Willie pouted and blew his hair away from his eyes.

Epona was very happy to see them, she had missed them the last few days they, Willie had been too busy with school and sword practice and Link had been busy helping some of the neighbor men build a new house.

The three galloped to lake Hylian, where Link taught Willie the thrust move and helped him actually do it. Then the two went fishing for a while, after an hour Willie caught a whopping 20 pound fish!

Link wasn't in the mood to fish after that, so the two went swimming in the lake.

"you can't catch me dad!" Willie said as he jumped into the water, Link laughed and began to swim after Willie when suddenly something popped out of the water in front of them.

It was a young Zora.

"um, hello?" Link said, the young Zora said nothing, and Willie swam behind Link, he was a little afraid, concidering he'd never seen a Zora before.

Suddenly another Zora popped out of the water a few feet away.

"Cody!" the Zora called, and Link could tell it was a girl. The young Zora turned at the sound of his name being called.

"mother! Look! I found two humans!" he said, the female Zora swam closer.

"Link! Is that you?" she said, and Link suddenly remembered who she was, his eyes widened and he swam towards shore, but Ruto wasn't going to let him get away. She swam after him, leaving Willie and Cody to stare after them.

Link pulled himself to shore, and princess Ruto jumped up after him. Cody and Willie also swam to shore, wondering what in the world was going on.

"Link! It's so good to see you!" Ruto said, hugging Link so hard his face turned red.

"Ruto… can't… breathe…" Link managed to gasp, and Ruto let go with a "sorry"

"dad, do you know her?" Willie asked, pointing Ruto. Link nodded.

"Willie, this is princess Ruto, she's the princess of the Zora's, you know, the fish-people I told you about?" Link said, Willie nodded, his eyes wide.

"actually, I'm queen of the Zora's now, my father's still alive, but he decided to retire and let me rule." Ruto said, she gestered to the young Zora next to her,

"this is my son, prince Cody." She said. Link nodded at Cody, Ruto glanced at Willie,

"and who's this fine young man, I'll certainly say, you look just like your father! I was once engaged to him you know." Ruto said, tapping Willie's nose. Willie blushed, then looked up at Link.

"you were really engaged to her?" he said, Link shook his head, "of course not! I never agreed to it!" he said. Ruto stared at him, her hands on her hips.

"you did to agree to it! You agreed to it when you took my stone!" she said,

"I did not!" Link said back Willie and Cody glanced at each other and shrugged before jumping back into water, leaving Link and Ruto to bicker.

Link and Willie didn't return home till the sun was starting to go down, after a while, he and Ruto realized they had been bickering for quite some time and decided to go home. Willie and Cody said goodbye, having become fast friends while their parents bickered.

Navi greeted the two as they walked in the door.

"so, how was the lake?" Navi asked, hovering in front of them,

"I met a new friend!" Willie said, Navi smiled, "did you now?" she said, she turned to Link.

"who's Willie's new friend?" she asked as Willie raced off to his room to play, Link rolled his eyes.

"while we were at the lake, Ruto showed up with her son, Cody. Ruto and I started arguing, so Willie and Cody played together." Link said, Navi tried hard not to laugh.

"what were you arguing about?" she asked,

"about weither or not we were once really engaged." Link said.

That was it, Navi couldn't take it. She let out a burst of laughter.

"you were actually fighting about something as dumb as that?!" Navi choked. Link glared at her.

"it's not funny Navi." He said, Navi continued laughing.

"oh yes it is!" she said. Link rolled his eyes again. Suddenly he grinned.

"are you going to stop Navi, or am I going to have to go to Kokiri forest and tell all the other fairies how you made a fool of yourself in front of that one boy-fairy you liked?" He said with a grin.

Navi immediately stopped laughing.

"that never leaves this house." She said, her face had no emotion. Link grinned at her.

"whatever you say Navi." He said. Navi glared at him. Just then, Willie came running into the room. (I was going to have Willie kidnapped here, but decided agsinst it)

"Navi! I'm building you a castle! Come and see!" he said before he turned and raced back to his room.

"I'm coming!" Navi shouted after him, she turned to Link, "you got off this time Linky," she said teasingly before she flew down the hallway to join Willie.

"come on dad! Come and see Navi's castle!" Willie called, Link grinned and started to head down the hall, but was stopped by a knock at the door. Link opened it and discovered a soldier standing at the door.

"hero of time! We need you! A cloaked figure is terrorizing the marketplace!" he said, Link sighed and nodded before grabbing his sword abd shield.

"Navi! I gotta run out for a bit, I've got work to do." He said, he heard Navi's "ok" from the next room.

He turned to the soldier and nodded, "ok, let's go." He said. The soldier nodded and led him towards the trouble.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"you've got to be kidding me." Link said ten minutes later. He had arrived at the marketplace to find a cloaked figure standing in the middle of it, taunting the villagers. As soon as Link had appeared, the villagers started recognizing him and cheering. The cloaked figure moved on to taunting him, but it wasn't working.

Link had pulled his sword and shield out, but the figure didn't fight back. So Link walked over to the figure, as soon as he got close a squeaky voice started saying

"fear me!" Link rolled his eyes and pulled to cloak off to see a Deku scrub like creature about two feet tall, thus leading Link to say "you've got to be kidding me."

"Excuse me! I happen to be a very great evil villian!" The scrub snapped, his hands on his little hips. Link snorted and bent down to his level.

He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, "it's not even worth it." He said, he stood up, sheathed the master sword and started walking away.

"hey! Come back here and face me!" the little scrub cried, Link waved a hand over his shoulder.

"you're not even worth it," he said, he glanced at two of the guards as he walked by.

"he's all yours." He said, the soldiers nodded and raced over to the scrub, picking his up by his arms while he shouted over and over after Link "fear me!" Link ignored him and started walking home.

"well that was a complete waste of time." He said, making his way back to his house. Navi greeted him with a smiple hello, while Willie greeted him with a grin that reminded Link of Zelda.

"com' on Willie, let's go groom Epona." Link said, nodding towards the door. Willie's eyes instantly lite up and he jumped up, ready to go. Link grinned at his enthusiasm and and led the boy to the stables. Where he proceded to lift Willie onto Epona's back so he could brush her easier. Epona stood quietly as he did, she was always gentle with Willie.

Link watched Willie's eyes shine as he brushed Epona. Willie loved animals, especially horses. When ever the two went out shopping and happened to see a horse, Willie just HAD to go and pet it.

_It's almost time to get him his own horse._ Link thought as he cleaned Epona's hooves with a hoof pick.

"hey dad! Can we going riding tomorrow?" Willie asked, practically bouncing up and down in excitement. Link grinned,

"sure, we'll go after you get home from school." He said, Willie smiled and hugged Epona. (hey, he's only six)

Then next day Link waited for Willie to get home so they could go riding, Willie raced out to meet Link as soon as school got out. He was eager to go riding.

Link and Willie headed to the stables, leaving Navi to relax at the house for a while. Since Willie didn't have a horse yet, he rode with Link on Epona.

The two rode all over Hyrule, stopping at the scientists's house by Lake Hylia, which Link didn't enjoy,

(flashback at Lake Hylia)

"_so Link, how have you and Willie been?" the professor asked, setting down two drinks for Link and Willie._

"_We've been fine." Link said as he picked up the drink the professor had placed in front of him and took a drink. _

_He immediately spit it out and looked into the cup, "what is this tea!?" he asked, the professor glanced at him._

"_oh, you noticed, I wanted to see the effects of my new medicine." He said, Link clenched his fist, his eyes covered by his hair._

"_don't use me as your guinea pig!" he snapped, setting his cup down. He noticed Willie pick up the cup and move to take a sip of it. Link quickly grabbed the cup and dumped the contents onto a plant next to where they were sitting._

"_as a researcher, I have great interest in your athletic ability, ect. If you worked with me, I'd be very much in your debt…" he begged. Link stood up and took Willie by the arm, dragging him to the door._

_(Link anime sweat dropped) "goodbye professor." He said, Willie waved at the professor._

(end flashback)

the two also rode to Kakariko village and played some games. Link winning several times while Willie was beside himself with joy.

By the time they were done playing some of the games, the sun was starting to set in the distance, and they had to return home.

"how was you day?" Navi asked as Link and Willie walked in the door, she flew up to them. Willie glanced up at her, his eyes dancing with excitement.

"we had lots of fun! Dad took me to the lake, and then we went to Kak… Kak.. Karkako village!" he said, Navi laughed.

"first off, it's pronounced _Kakariko,_ and I'm glad you and your dad had a good time." Navi said, shaking her head at the young boy's excitement.

"I'm gonna go play with my toys!" Willie said before racing off, Link grinned in the direction he had gone.

"he's growing up so fast." Navi said with a sigh. "the next thing you know, he'll be getting married."

Link shuddered. "don't say that Navi, it creeps me out." Navi laughed,

"he has to go through being a teenager first, I'm looking forward to the look on your face when he starts bringing girls home." Link clapped his hands over his ears.

"I'm not listening! I'm not listening!" he said reapeatedly. Navi rolled her eyes, men, they can be so childish sometimes. (no offense to any real boys that are actually really mature, unlike two certain younger brothers that I know.)

**The next chapter will still be about 6-year-od Willie, I'm planning on at least two to three chapters per age. He'll be aging through the story (obviously) But his age will be skipping around 2-3 years. So the age after this one will be about 9-10. I'm not sure yet, them we'll move on to 13, and then maybe go through each year after that. The teen years are so much more fun to write, and I've got big plans for Willie, so keep reading!**

**Oh, and thanks to all my reviewers, you make me feel so special. Happy 2007!**

**Anime Wildfire**


	8. These happy years

**Top of the mornin' to ya! (he ha, sorry, it's an Irish greeting. And I happen to be part Irish.) I've been wanting to say that. Anyway, sorry about the long wait, this chapter was really long and took me a while to type and I've been busy working on a bunch of my other stories, (like Wishful thinking if any of you have read that.) The sequel is comeing for that one, as soon as I type it out.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I just need a few more to get fifty, and then fifty more to get one hundred! WOHO!**

**ahem... sorry, lost myself there, anyway, enjoy the chapter! I'm gonna go and listen to the song I love rock and roll! See ya!**

**Anime Wildfire**

Link really needed something to do. He felt useless doing nothing, so he decided to find some work to do. ( my dad's like that, he has to have some work to do or otherwise he's cranky, unlike me, I usually try to _avoid_ work)

"Link, what are you doing?" Navi asked, Link had been roaming around the house looking for something to do.

"I need something to do Navi." Link said, luckily for him, fate was on his side. There was suddenly a knock on the door.

Link raced over and opened the door, only to find Kari's mother Kendra standing there.

"Oh, Link. I was wondering if you could help me, our house has a leak on the roof, do you think you can fix it?" she asked. Link nodded and followed Kendra to her house where she showed him the leaking roof, Link easily climbed up and started fixing it, taking his time in order to do a good job but at the same time hurrying in order to finish it tonight in case it rained.

Navi came out and watched him for a while, helping him with small things, but then she decided to go with Kendra to pick up Kari and Kate, Kendra also volunteered to pick Willie up as well, since Link was working.

Willie wasn't very surprised to see his father working on the roof. Link fixed things for Kendra all the time. The poor woman would be in lots of trouble if he didn't, and in return, she made clothes for Willie, since Link obviously didn't sew.

Link finished the roof just as Kendra returned with Kari, Kate and Willie. Kari was arguing with Willie while Kate wlaked with her mother.

"No I don't like mud!" Kari snapped, clentching her fists. "then what about plain dirt? Do you like that?" Willie asked.

"No!" Kari snapped, she stomped away from Willie into her house, shutting the door with a bang! Kendra tried not to laugh as she shook her head. She waved to Link before following her daughter into the house, Kate glanced back at Willie before following her mother and sister into the house.

"hey dad! Are you done yet?" Willie asked, shielding his eyes from the sun.

"yeah! I'll be done in a sec, why don't you and Navi go inside?" he said, Willie nodded and turned to Navi, who was sitting on his shoulder.

"come on Navi, let's go get a snack!" Willie said, racing towards the house, leaving Navi to grab onto his hair so she didn't fall off.

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The next day was Saturday, so Willie didn't have school. Link had the perfect place for them to spend the day. He decided to tell him during their sword practice.

"all right Willie, let's see what you've got." Link said, he drew the master sword. Willie drew his small wooden sword.

"hiya!" Willie cried, he leaped at Link in a jump attack. Link blocked it with his sword and poked Willie teasingly in the stomach, making Willie giggle.

"nice try, but you missed. Try again." Link said in a teasing voice, taking a step back. Willie stood for a minute, thinking of a move.

He suddenly leaped at Link, stabbing him in the chest, or rather, leaving a bruise. Willie's sword wasn't sharp enough to leave more than a small bruise.

Link pretended Willie had killed him, he fell to his knees, acting dramatic.

"uh… the great hero has killed me!" he said, clutching his 'wound' he fell on his back, his body sprawled around as if he was really dead. Willie laughed.

"I got you dad!" he said, he raced over to Link and began to tug on his tunic. Link suddenly sat up and began to tickle Willie, Willie started laughing, and rolled onto his back while trying to get Link to stop.

"say 'Navi's a grouch!'" Link said, still tickling Willie. "Hey!" Navi said from her place on a rock near them, she was enjoying the bright sunshine.

"Navi's… a… grouch!" Willie gasped, still laughing. Link stopped tickling him and stood up. A grin on his face. Willie was trying to catch his breath, being tickled to death had left him breathless.

"alright Willie, back to training." Link said, he helped Willie to his feet. As soon as Willie was up he pushed Link down and raced over to his sword.

"whoever gets their sword last is a moblin!" he yelled back to Link.

"hey!" Link said, jumping to his feet and racing after Willie. "that's cheating!" Willie just laughed and ran faster, but he was no match for Link. And soon Link caught up to him, he picked Willie up and slung him over his shoulder.

"hey! That's cheating!" Willie said as Link picked up his sword. Link set him down and ruffled his hair.

"then we're even." He said, Willie smiled and picked up his little sword.

"alright Willie, try this move…"

In Link's eyes, training should be fun. That's how it was to him. He has seen other fathers training with their sons, and the boys had looked miserable. They weren't having any fun at all, it was just plain fighting. So Link promised himself that he wouldn't make training boring for Willie. He would make it as much fun as possible.

"Willie, let me see you do that upward thrust again." Link said, Willie nodded and proformed the upward thrust.

"hmmm. Good," Link said, "except for one thing." Link walked over to Willie and help move his posture a bit.

"spread your legs like this, that way, when you thrust the sword up, you won't lose your balance and fall. Here, I'll show you." Link said, he took his own sword, stood in the stance he had just shown Willie, and proformed the upward thrust.

Willie's eyes were wide when Link was finished, he looked like a mini Link. Link grinned down at him.

"now you try." He said, urging Willie on. Willie nodded and took the same stance Link had, glancing at his father to be sure he had it right. A nod from Link confirmed that, so Willie took the sword and thrust it high in the air with all his might. Then he looked over at Link.

Link nodded and started clapping, even Navi started clapping from her rock. Link smiled.

"excellent Willie, you learn fast." Link said, Willie's eyesshone with the praise from Link.

_Praise… lots of praise and encouragement, that's the way to train Willie._ Link thought,

"hey dad! Guess what! I made another friend today at school!" Willie said, Link grinned at him. "that's great Willie! What's your friend's name?" he asked. Willie smiled.

"his name's Jason! And we have so much in common!" he said, "we played a prank on Kari and Piper today!" he said,

"who's Piper?" Link asked, "she's Kari's best friend! She's also lots of fun to prank!" Willie said, Navi sighed from her rock.

"yup, Willie's found a prank buddy. I can already see lots of trouble in the future…" she said, Link bit his lip. He knew as a parent, he should scold Willie for playing a prank on Kari and Piper, but he just couldn't do it. After all, he himself had played a number of pranks on Zelda.

"what prank did you play on Kari?" Link asked, Willie grinned mischievously.

"I put a cricket in her lunch box, Jason did the same to Piper. The look on her face was so funny! Piper wasn't nearly that funny though, she just looked at it and then let it go! Talk about a spoil-sport…"

Link was trying hard not to laugh. As a parent, he couldn't encourage Willie. Navi obviously saw his attempt, for she glared at him and flew up in front of Willie.

"Willie! You probably hurt poor Kari's feelings! If you want her to be your friend, you have to be nice to her, not embarress her! She won't want to be your friend if you do that." She said, Willie just grinned again.

Navi threw her hands up in the air and turned to Link, "ugh, he gets more and more like you every day!" she said, she flew past them and returned to her sun-bathing rock.

Willie turned to Link.

"dad, what happened to mom?" he asked, Link froze. He glanced down at Willie and saw he was as serious as Link had ever seen him. Link sighed and sat on a rock, nodding to the ground as a gesture for Willie to sit. Willie did, and stared up at him with big eyes. Navi flew over as well, a sad look on her face.

"Willie," Link began, "your mother isn't here anymore." He said, Willie blinked in confusion.

"what do you mean?" he asked, Link sighed again.

"Willie, your mother died before you were born. Remember I told you your mother lives with the goddesses?" he said, Willie nodded. "that's where your mother is." Link said. Sadness clouded Willie's eyes, he stood up and glanced at the sky before walking away. His gaze on the ground.

Link watched Willie go, his own heart filling up with sadness at Willie's pain, he felt Navi touch his cheek gently, her gaze on Willie as well. She too, felt the pain. But did the pain have to hurt so bad? Link wasn't sure, but he wished he could take away poor Willie's pain. He knew exactly how Willie was feeling, he never knowing his own mother as well. The pain was deep, and it hurt worse than any physical pain, the pain of never knowing your mother.

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Two days later…

"Dad! Dad!" Link grinned as he saw Willie running towards him, a paper in his hand.

"hey Willie!" Link said as he hugged his son. Willie stepped back, his eyes shining with excitement.

"dad! My school is going on a field trip!" he said, handing Link the paper. Link took the paper and read it. It explained that the class would be going for a swim to lake Hylia and then shopping a Kakariko. Parents permission was required.

"parents are allowed to come too dad! Will you come with me?" Willie asked, unable to contain his enthusiasm. Link grinned at him.

"of course I'll come Willie, this sounds like lots of fun!" he said, picking Willie up and propping him on his shoulder as he started walking back to their house.

"we're going next week! I can't wait!" Willie said, bouncing up and down on Link's shoulder. Link just smiled.

"stop bouncing Willie, and don't worry, it says on the paper the trip's next week. You won't have to wait for long." Link said.

"trip? What trip? Navi asked, flying out from under Link's hat. Willie turned to her.

"my school is going on a field trip! And guess what Navi! Dad's going too!" he said, Navi looked impressed.

"a field trip huh? Sounds exciting!" she said, flying onto Willie's shoulder. "you can come too Navi! The we can have lots of fun!" Willie said, beginning to bounce again. Navi grinned.

"I'll be there Willie," she said, Link grinned. This was certainly going to be an interesting week.

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One week later… the day of the field trip….

"come on Dad! Let's go were gonna be late!" Willie said, it was the morning of the field trip, and Willie was not intending to miss it.

"calm down Willie, I'm almost ready. I've never been late in my life." Link said, Navi snorted and flew up to face Link,

"oh yeah? How about on your wedding day? Mr. Show-up-a-half-an-hour-late." Navi said, "and what about the time you-"

"ok! Anyways, I'll be ready soon." Link said, clapping his hand over Navi, as soon as Willie left Link let her go.

"Link! That was incredible rude! Have you already become so uncivilized that you forgot all the manners Zelda taught you?!" She said, Link rolled his eyes.

"come on Navi, let's get ready or we won't make it one time." Link said, grabbing a clean tunic before heading to the kitchen. Willie was already there, muttering to himself as he picked out his breakfast.

Link walked right past him to a shelf in the living room, where some of Link's weapons waited to be used again. (hookshot, lens of truth, bombs, boomerang, slingshot, stuff like that)

He pulled his hookshot, bombs, spells, fairy bow and a few other weapons off the shelf before returning to his room, where he strapped the master sword and his shield to his back. You could never be to caucious, and Link wasn't taking any chances when it came to his son and other children.

------------------------------------------------

Ten minutes later, Link had gotten some breakfast and was ready to go. Link had talked tp Willie's teacher, and she had told him as well as the other parents to bring any horses they owned with them. She had also asked him to act as protection to the group, having seen his sword and heard about his skill with it. Link had agreed.

Link and Willie both rode Epona to the school house, where everyone was meeting. (a wagon was provided for those who didn't have horses)

Most of the other parents were there, so Link pulled Epona to a halt and slid to the ground, helping Willie down as well.

"Willie, I need to talk to you." Link said before Willie ran off to play, Willie nodded and waited for Link to continue.

"I want you to ride in the wagon with some of the other children." He said, Willie looked confused. "but I want to ride with you on Epona." He said, Link bit his lip.

"I know you do, but I need you to ride on the wagon this time, Kendra will be on the wagon with Kate and Kari, and she's agreed to keep an eye on you." Link said, Willie looked sad, but he nodded. He didn't want to disappoint his father.

Link grinned at Willie, "besides, I need you to protect Kendra, Kate and Kari, if your not there, who will protect them?" Link said, Willie's eyes widened as realization came in to his eyes and replaced all trace of sadness, he nodded to Link and raced over towards the wagon. Link watched him go, then noticed the teacher heading towards him.

"everyone's here." She said, "thank you so much for doing this," Link nodded, "it's my job." He said, The teacher smiled. "try and stay around the side next to the wagon instead of the front, the ones riding on horses will be able to get away, but it's the wagon I'm most worried about." She said, Link nodded and again and she left, rounding up the excited students and parents. After giving them a quick speech on saftey, she nodded to Link and climbed up in front of the wagon, the driver flicked the reins and they were off.

Link mounted Epona and trotted her next to the wagon, Willie waved at him as he passed. Link waved back and grinned at him, Kate and Kari also waved at him and he waved back before galloping Epona ahead to the gate of Hyrule castle.

The guards let the out without a problem, so Link returned to the side of the wagon.

It was about a half an hour's ride to lake Hylia, so some of the parents and children in the wagon distracted themselves by playing games. Willie, Kate and Kari joining in one of them.

Link grinned at his son, when he got a feeling something was wrong. Glancing around, he noticed what seemed like birds flying at them, their bodies on fire.

_Keeses_ Link thought, he drew his bow and cantered Epona, ignoring the worried voices of the students and parents.

Link pulled the bow back and aimed an arrow towards the first of the seven keeses. Hitting it even though he was a few hundred feet away.

Back at the wagon, Willie was watching, a worried look on his face (obviously)

"Willie! What's going on?" a voice said, Navi flew out of Willie's shirt, she's fallen asleep their earlier only to be woken by the worried voices of everyone.

"these weird bird things are attacking dad!" Willie said, pointing to the keeses Link was shooting, only three more to go.

"keeses." Navi muttered, Willie turned to her, "what are keeses?" he asked. "yeah, what are keeses, and why are they attacking us?" One of the parents asked, Navi blinked and glanced around in surprise, all the parents and children were staring at her, looking scared. Then it dawned to Navi that none of them had probably seen a Keese before.

"they're called Keeses, and don't worry, they're very easy to defeat." She said, the group relaxed, and soon Link and Epona came galloping back. Navi flew out to meet him.

"Link, what are Keeses doing in Hyrule field?" she whispered, Link shook his head, "I wish I knew Navi, but I don't have a clue." He said. Navi sat on Link's shoulder to think.

"dad!"

Link glanced over at the wagon and saw Willie waving at him, so he trotted Epona over.

"what's wrong Willie?" he asked, Willie smiled, his eyes shining.

"nothing's wrong dad! I was just wondering if you were ok!" he asked, Link nodded. "I'm fine Willie, I just have a small burn on my shoulder, but other than that, I'm perfectally fine." He said.

Willie nodded, he was glad his father was ok. Link turned Epona and the group continued on towards the lake.

A little while later, they made it to the lake. Other than the Keeses, they hadn't run into anymore trouble.

Everyone poured out of the wagon and into the lake, some of the parents decided to go in the lake, but most decided to sit on the beach and watch their children swing while they talked to their friends.

Link decided to go in the water. (since bathing suits havn't been invented yet, the boys will swim in their pants and their girls will swim in casual dresses)

Link and Willie left their tunics on the shore and played in the water, they had water fights with Kari and Kate, splashing contests, and swimming contests (the one who swims farthest wins) while Kendra watched from the shore.

They swam for two hours before it was time to pack up and go to Kakariko to shop. This time, Kendra and the girls were the ones with the advantage, Kendra insisted on getting some cloth to make some clothes for all three of the kids. She took Kate, Kari and Willie with her, though from the look of horror on Willie's face, Link could see he'd rather not go clothes shopping. Navi flew off to relax for a while, so Link decided to browse around at the blacksmith shop (as expected)

The blacksmith was a friend if Link's, Link having worked their before when he was younger. He stopped there for a while and helped the blacksmith with some of his work.

He also stopped at a medical center, to get the burn on his shoulder bandaged. Down the street, he saw Kendra, Kate, Kari and Willie, Kendra was holding a piece of cloth up to Willie to see how it looked and to see if it matched his eyes and skin tone. Willie looked bored out of his mind, he kept shifting his weight and glancing around.

Link grinned and walked towards them, and as soon as Willie saw Link he smiled, he was saved.

"hey dad!" he said, Kendra glanced behind her and waved. "hello Link, The girls and I are picking out some material for some clothes for Willie." She said, behind her, Kate and Kari were arguing.

"I still think green looks good!" Kate said, her hands on her hips. "no way, he needs orange." Kari said, her arms crossed over her chest, she grinned. "then he look like the clown he is!" she said, smirking at Willie.

"Kari! Don't say such rude things." Kendra scolded, she turned to Kate. "I agree with Kate, the green looks best on Willie." She said, Willie sighed.

"finally! We're done shopping for clothes!" he said, Kendra grinned at him as she bought the cloth, "the girls and I have a few more cloths to buy, but we have all the cloth we need for your clothes, so you can go with your dad now." Willie pumped his fist.

"yes! No more clothes shopping!" he said, Link grinned and shook his head slightly. "all right Willie, what'd you say we go check out some swords?" he said, Willie nodded.

"yeah!" he said, two waved goodbye to Kendra and the girls and headed off, Willie talked the whole time about how boring shopping is.

"believe me son, I feel your pain. Your mother made me go shopping with her, but it was worse for me, because your mother could shop all day!" Link said, Willie grimaced. "and I thought I had is bad." He said, Link grinned at him and stopped in front of the store. The two stepped inside and browsed around the swords, Link quizzed Willie on the swords, teaching him which was of better quality, and why, he also taught him why the other swords were of worse quality and why it was made way. For example, the hunter's dagger was bigger and harder to hide, but it was made of better metal than the smaller, easier knives to hide and was better for fighting and hunting.

Willie loved it all, he picked it all up very quickly. And took interest to one of the swords in the shop. It was a smaller sword, with a blade like the master sword and about the same size, but it was light, and very quick and easy to use. Willie told Link he prefered quick swords over ones that took a lot of muscle. The heavier swords cut better, but a quicker sword was capable of inflickting quicker, more accurate attacks, resulting in the first blow in a fight and painful flesh wounds when used lightly. When used with full force, it could easily be used to kill someone. (I hope that made sense…)

Link privatly agreed with him, he felt the same way, as to his reason for weilding the light master sword.

Link was impressed with his son's deep understanding of the sword, just like him. He was only six, and not many people understood the sword that way anymore.

After looking at swords for a while, Willie started getting a little restless and wanted to play some games. The met up with Kendra and the girls again, and Willie dragged Kate and Kari off to play some games. Link went with them, leaving Kendra to finish up her shopping.

Willie really wanted to play the archery game, but he was too young, so he coaxed Link into doing it instead. Link finally gave in and did it, winning prizes for each of the three kids, as well as a new quiver for himself.

The girls wanted to go play the bomb game next, so they were off. All four of them were allowed to play this game, so they spent good while there (and lots of Link's rupees)

Kate and Willie ended up being the only ones to win a prize, but Willie gave his to Kari and told her not to be depressed, Kari only snapped back that she didn't need a stupid stuffed fairy, but she proceded to take it anyway. (it's still in her room to this day)

By the time they were done with the bombs, it was time for the class to head back, but Link promised to take Kari, Kate and Willie all back again sometime. (at which they cheered for joy)

They met up with Navi, Kendra and the group again, and made their way back to Hyrule castle without any trouble, although Kari, Kate and Willie insisted on seeing Link jump Epona over several things, poor Epona was tired by the time they got back. (but she snapped out of it when Kari came up to her and fed her a bunch of carrots as thanks)

Link, Willie and Navi said goodbye to Kendra, Kari and Kate and went inside, exausted. (or in Link's case, an empty wallet)

Link and Navi tucked the exausted Willie into bed, said goodnight to each other, and went to bed, each dreaming about their favorite part of the day.

(Link- the swords, Willie- Kari accepting his gift, and Navi- her time at a spa type thing.)

**Man that was a long chapter, over 4,000 words. Sorry if I went overboard with all the little notes, I can't help myself, it's so much fun!**

**Yay! Next chapter Willie grows up! I'm thinking he'll be ten. If anyone has any ideas for ten-year-old Willie, let me know! The possibilites are endless, like maybe... Willie could get sick, or could meet someone new, or go on a walk and find something toally unexpected! you never know!**

**Great, now I have to go and start typing the next chapter, I Just got myself all wired up, is that even possible?!**

**Anyway, please review! And let me know about anyidea's you have, no matter how dumb or silly they may sound to you, I still want to hear it! (as long as you don't suggest I make Willie gay or something, I'd be happy to listen to any of your ideas!)**

**See you all later! Review and add an idea with it! (if you want to)**

**A.K.S.**


	9. Love hurts

**Hey everyone, sorry this chapter took so long. It took me a while to type it, but you wouldn't believe all the plans I've got for Willie, and everyone else as well. I've had lots of fun coming up with all these awesome ideas of things for Willie to do, I can feel the power! Muwaha!**

**Anyway, I hope everyone likes this chapter. I tried to get this one up sooner, but I was putting a lot of thought into something for the next chapter, so I had to write it all down so I wouldn't forget!**

**thanks to everyone who reviews, they make me so special, and I LOVE replying to them. See you all next chapter!**

**Anime Wildfire**

-0-

"WILLIE!!!"

The cry rang through Hyrule marketplace, several people stopped what they were doing to glance around in confusion.

"WILLIE!!!" Grinning, a young boy jumped up from what he was making and raced over to the window, glancing out and down.

Kari was standing in the doorway of her house, completely soaked. She looked up at his window and glared at him, he grinned back.

" You're asking for it!" she snapped, she turned and walked inside, slamming the door behind her. The minute she was gone Willie burt out laughing, his sides aching.

"Willie!" shouted a voice, it sounded like Link. Willie tried to control his laughter,  
"coming dad!" he said, glancing down at his wonderful creation on the floor before racing down the stairs.

Link was standing at the bottom of the steps, his hands behind his back as he waited for his son.

"Willie." He said, the boy stopped in front of him. "yeah dad?"

"I have a gift for you." Link said, Willie's lit up in excitement as Link pulled an ocarina out from behind his back.

"what is it dad?" Willie asked, taking the cool, blue instrument in his hands. Link pulled the ocarina of time out of his pocket.

"it's an instrument, you play it." He said, he lifted the ocarina of time to his lips and played a gentle song. Willie glanced up at him.

"what was that song dad?" he asked, Link glanced at him, his eyes soft. "that song was called Zelda's lullaby, your mother used to play it." He said, Willie's eyes widened and he glanced down at the ocarina in his hands.

"did mom used to play the ocarina?" he asked, Link nodded. "she played a little, mostly she played the harp, but she played the ocarina a bit too."

"will you teach me how to play it?" Willie asked, holding the ocarina out, Link nodded. "of course I'll teach you how to play it, why would I give it to you if I wasn't going to teach you how to play?" he said, grinning.

"all right, now this is what you do…"

the next few weeks were spent teaching Willie to play the ocarina, as well as training. Link wasn't going to let Willie fall behind. Of course, Willie still had school, and almost everyday he came home with a story about something he and Jason did or about something Kari did.

Link found these stories some-what amusing, but Navi didn't. She would scold Willie and tell him that if he really wanted Kari to like him he's leave her alone. But Willie would just grin and walk off, leaving Navi to conclude he'd heard nothing she'd said.

Finally, Link decided that Willie was ready to learn the song Zelda's lullaby on the ocarina. He had taught Willie a few easy songs like Epona's song, and Willie couldn't wait to learn Zelda's lullaby.

(if you're wondering why Link didn't teach him song of storms of sun's song, it's because he knew the concequences. This is Willie we're talking about, do the math.)

"alright Willie, now follow my lead." Link said, he played the first five notes of Zelda's lullaby. Willie watched him carefully, then followed his example, easily picking the notes up. Link was impressed.

"good, you're very talented at this Willie." He said, Willie beamed at the praise.

"all right, these are the last few notes." Link said, he played the end of Zelda's lullaby. "think you can play that?" he asked, Willie nodded and followed Link's example, only missing on of the notes.

"good. Now let's try the whole song." Link said, he started playing Zelda's lullaby. Willie followed along, and they played the whole song without any mistakes. Willie beamed at the end, he had finally mastered the ocarina.

"good job Willie, I'm proud of you." Link said, grinning at his son. Willie blushed, Link's praise meant more to Willie than anything, except Kari.

"thanks dad. I'm gonna go practice more!" Willie said, Link nodded and watched Willie run off before he went back into his house.

Willie, meanwhile, decided to leave the marketplace and find a nice stream or meadow to practice in, somewhere no one would hear.

He waved as he raced past the guards, but they took no notice of him. They weren't allowed too.

In Hyrule field, Willie glanced around, he knew a good place to go, having thought of it on his way out.

He started running, his ocarina clutched in his fist, until he saw in the distance his destination, a log by the stream that led to Zora river.

As Willie grew closer, he noticed, to his alarm, that someone was already there. Curious, he snuck closer, trying to avoid being seen.

It was a woman, a beautiful one at that. She had long golden hair that fell to her waist, he back was to Willie, and a silky blue cloak rested around her shouders.

Willie snuck closer, for some reason felling that this person wasn't a threat to him. The woman sighed, she still hadn't noticed Willie yet, so Willie decided to make his presence known.

"um… excuse me?" he said, the woman glanced over at him in surprise. "oh, I'm sorry. Is this your spot?" she asked, Willie shook his head. "no, but I do come here sometimes." He said, the woman smiled at him, and Willie felt as if he knew her from somewhere.

She patted the log next to her, "you can sit here too you know." She said, Willie glanced at the log, then at her before walking over and sitting next to her.

"what are you here for?" she asked, glancing over at Willie. He shrugged. "I just came to practice playing my ocarina." He said, pulling the ocarina Link had given him out of his tunic and showing it to her. She smiled at him.

"it's a lovely orcarina." She said, smiling at him before glancing out at the stream.

"my father made it for me, he taught me a few songs to play on it." Willie said, the woman glance at him. "oh?" she said, "will you play one for me?" Willie hesitated, then nodded. He lifted the ocarina up and played the song Zelda's lullaby.

When he finished, the woman stared at him in disbelief. "where did you learn that song?" she asked, Willie glanced at the ocarina. "my father taught me." He said.

_Could it be?_- Zelda wasn't sure, but staring down the boy next to her, she realized just how much the child looked just like her lost love.

"what's your father's name?" she asked him, hoping the boy wouldn't get too suspicious. He didn't, but he looked a little confused as to why she wanted to know his father's name.

"Link. My father's is Link." He said, glancing back down at the ocarina. Zelda felt tears come to her eyes. This boy was Link's son, which also meant he was her son! Zelda tried very hard not to cry. This boy, she knew, had grown up without a mother. She bit her lip, there had been so many times she had wondered how Link and Willie had been doing, and now, her son was sitting there right next to her! And he was completely unaware that she was his mother.

"if it's not to rude… what's your name?" Willie asked, Zelda blinked at him. "my name… is Zelda." She said. It was Willie's turn to blink. "Zelda? Like the princess?" he said, Zelda nodded and sighed.

"like the princess. My mother named me after her." She said, it wasn't a complete lie, she was named after the original Zelda.

"that's a nice name." Willie said, Zelda smiled at him. "thank you." She said, she glanced up at the sky, where the sun could be seen slowly making its way down.

"I'm sorry, I must go." She said, standing up, she smiled at Willie again before pulling her hood up and making her way back to the castle.

Willie watched her go, not making a move to go himself. He sat there for a while, thinking. Finally he decided to practice playing his ocarina. He played Zelda's lullaby, and the only other song his father would teach him, Epona's song. Willie just hoped Epona was too far away to hear it or she might break down everything in her way in order to reach him.

Willie sighed, the put his ocarina back in his tunic and started heading back home. His father would start to worry about him if he didn't get home soon.

Just as he crossed the bridge before it closed for the night, he heard a noise behind some crates in one of the allys.

Curious, he walked over and pushed the crates aside, a grin on his face at what he found.

A small black kitten was staring back up at him, its blue eyes wide with wonder. Willie picked up the little kitten, and she snuggled into his tunic.

Willie left the ally and headed home, still clutching the kitten in his hands.

Link was waiting for him when he got home, he was a bit worried, but forgot about it when he saw the kitten. Now Link was a big animal lover himself, so how could he refuse to keep the cat when Willie begged?

Willie and the young cat instantly bonded. At first, Willie wanted to call the cat spot, but Link, and Kari, when she found out. Wouldn't have it. Upon learning it was a female, Kari suggested the name Mia, and the name stuck.

Mia loved Willie, and followed him everywhere. For the first few weeks, she lived in a box in their living room. But Mia soon decided that is she was smart enough to find herself a home, she was smart enough to get out of a troublesome box. So one day, she managed to pull herself over the edge of the box and out.

There was no keeping her in the box after that.

Mia proceded to explore the house in the weeks that followed after her escape. Willie and Link would often find her in the strangest places, like under the couch or even squeezed in Link's pillow (which she tore to shreds the very first time she did it)

Kari loved Mia, and spent as much time with her as possible, much to Willie's delight. Mia liked Kari, but was much more attached to Willie. Link explained that it was probably because Mia saw Willie as a mother-(or father) like-figure.

"hey Kari!"

Kari glanced up from the flowers she was watering and glanced behind her. Willie was heading straight for her.

"hey Willie!" Kate said, waving at him. Willie nodded in her direction.

"hey Kari, do you like-" he began, but Kari interupted him, "no I don't like it whatever it is." She said, turning her back to him. Her nose in the air.

"how do you know I was going to ask that?" Willie said, Kari turned around and faced him, her hands on her hips. "because I know you. And you were probably going to ask me if I like to make mud angels in the mud or something…" she said, Willie stared at her.

"how'd you know?" he asked, Kari rolled her eyes, Willie grinned at her.

"I'm kidding, actually, there's a reason I came over here." He said. He reached into his tunic and pulled out a green hat. "my dad was wondering if your mom can fix his hat. He's had it since he was my age, so it's kind of special to him." He said.

Kari sighed and took the hat, "sure, I'll ask her." She said, touching the hole on one side before tucking it inside her pocket. A man suddenly came running down the street, shouting about something.

"did you hear?" he said to Willie, Kate and Kari as he ran past them. "we get to see the new prince today! It's been a month since the boy was born!" Kari, Willie and Kate glanced at each other as the man continued down the street, shouting the good news.

"hey wait! Where are the presenting him?" Kari called after the man, but he was too far away.

"they're presenting him in Hyrule marketplace." A voice said. The three turned around and saw Kendra standing there. She closed the door to the house behind her.

"mom, are we going to see him?" Kate asked, Kendra nodded. "so are we." A voice said. They turned around and saw Link heading towards them. He put a hand on Willie's shoulder.

"let's go." He said, and the five of them made their way to the market place.

-0-

"there's a lot of people here." Kari said, glancing around. "you three, hold hands so you don't get seperated, and if you do, meet us by the food store." Kendra said, the three ten-year-olds nodded and Kate immediately grabbed Willie's hand. Willie held his hand out to Kari, who took it relucantly, a scowl on her face. She groaned.

"watch it you three." Link said, stepping next to them as someone pushed past him, "it's really crowded here."

"when do we get to see the new prince?" Kate asked, her voice slightly pouty. Kendra smiled. "I'm sure we'll see him soon." She said.

-0-

Half an hour later, they were still waiting. And the people were starting to get restless. Finally, everyone started clapping, and a man stepped out onto the stage that had been set up for the announcement. It was the king of Hyrule.

"good citizens of Hyrule! It is my pleasure to introduce my new grandson, and the prince of Hyrule, prince Erik!" he said, gesturning towards the curtain. Princess Zelda stepped out from behind the blood red curtain, she had a smile on her face as she made her way to her father, her young son in her arms.

Willie stared in awe at the young prince, not even realizing that the baby was his half-brother and that his mother was princess Zelda.

_I wonder what it's like to be a prince? _He wondered, as the king started speaking about the new prince.

Link, meanwhile, watched sadly as Zelda cradled the baby. His blue eyes filled with sadness, pain, and regret. Zelda looked up, and her eyes swept through the crowd. For a moment, her gaze met with Link's, and the two stared sadly at each other before Link looked away.

Willie stared up at his father, wondering why he was looking so sad. He glanced in the direction his father had been looking, and saw princess Zelda. Why would his father get upset about princess Zelda? It didn't make sense. Willie shook his head and turned his attention back to the king, all thoughts of his father's sadness driven completely from his mind.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Zelda walked quickly down the hallway, headed straight for the cries of her newborn son coming for the nursury at the end of the hall.

Impa was inside, speaking to the child in a low voice to sooth his cries. Zelda entered the room, and quickly rushed over to the cradle, lifting her baby out and cuddling hid in her arms, cooing at him to calm him down.

Impa grinned, "looks like his mother was all he needed." She said, Zelda looked up and smiled at her.

"what time is the prince's doctor appointment?" Impa asked. Zelda glanced up at her again.

"it's in a hour." She said, Impa nodded. Zelda spoke again, "this isn't your evreyday sickness, something's really wrong." She said, glancing down at the now asleep infant in her arms.

As Impa watched the young child, she too, couldn't push away the feeling that something was terrible wrong.

-0-

"how is he?" Zelda asked, she and her husband had been waiting outside the exam room for an hour. The doctor sighed, "please, come inside, we have much to disscuss."

Five minutes later, Zelda and her husband were sitting across from the doctor.

"we've finished the tests on the prince, but I'm afraid I have some bad news." He said, Zelda clutched the edge of her dress, fearing the worst.

"your son will live, but we have discovered that the child has a disease, called Roumphadite." (room-fa-dite) the doctor said.

"what is roumphadite?" Zelda asked, her voice suprisingly controlled. The doctor sighed.

"Roumphadite is a rare mental illness, it causes the person to, well, let's just say grow up differentally. The boy won't grow the same way as other children, by the time most children are three, they are walking and talking and becoming quite active. Your child, unfortunatly, will just be learning to walk and talk, by the time he's five or six he'll be as adventrous as a three-year-old." He said, he took Zelda's hand.

"I'm sorry your highness." He said, then he stood up and left the room, giving the two a chance to fully take in all they had been told.

Zelda's husband stood up and headed for the door. "I'm gonna go get Erik." He said before he left. (I don't have a name for him yet)

As soon as he was gone, tears welled up in Zelda's eyes, and she couldn't hold it any longer. She let her tears poor down freely. First Link, then Willie, and now her youngest son? It was too much for her to bear.

"Zelda?" a voice said, Zelda looked up and saw Impa standing in the door way, Impa rushed over to her.

"oh Zelda, I'm so sorry about Erik." She said, hugging her. Zelda hugged her back and sobbed, it wasn't fair, it wasn't fair at all.

_oh goddesses, what am I to do now?_

_ -0-_

**I know, the ending may seem sad, but don't worry. Zelda's life won't be miserable forever, she'll have some happiness too.**

**Keep an eye out for the next chapter, _Link's agonizing journey, _coming soon!**

**Anime Wildfire**


	10. Link's agonizing journey

**YES! I finally finished this chapter! I wasn't planning on being able to get it up until sometime this week! I've got a ton of homework this week... ugh, homework is SO not fun. I have a really good feeling your going to love this chapter! I had sooooo much fun typing it!**

**I have over 60 reviews!!! I'm sooo excited! But I'm still about 40 short of 100! So please review! And thanks to all my loyal reviewers! I enjoy reading your reviews sooooo much!**

**Hope you all enjoy the next chapter!**

**Anime Wildfire**

"Willie! Let's see you do this!" Link said, he leaped at Willie and tried to slash him sideways.

Willie nodded and blocked the attack with his sword, returning Link's attack with an attack of his own. Link jumped aside and stopped a few feet away, grinning.

"good job Willie, you get better and better everyday." He said, Willie nodded, then turned his head and coughed several times.

Link frowned, but dissmissed it as working himself too hard.

"all right Willie, let's call it a day." Link said, sheathing his sword. Willie nodded and sheathed his own sword, then he coughed and started walking back to their house. Link followed him, carrying the rest of their weapons into the house.

-0-

the next morning, the sun was shining, and Link was still asleep. Navi suddenly came flying into his room and started pulling on his hair.

"Link! Link wake up quick! Something wrong with Willie!" she said, Lin kwas up in a flash, racing to Willie's room.

Willie was lying in his bed, his chest heaving as he struggled to breath. Mia sat on the floor next to his bed, her big blue eyes wide with wonder. She meowed softly and turned her attention back to Willie before trying to jump onto the bed, only to fall of and slid back down to the floor.

Link picked her up and set her down next to Willie, Mia curled up in the crook of his neck and purred, rubbing her ceek against him.

"that's so sweet." Navi said, "We need to get Willie to the doctor's." Link said, "Link, the doctor's gone! He left Hyrule on an emergency call a few days ago!" Navi said, Link groaned.

"ok ok, then we need to get him to Kendra's house, she'll know what to do until we can find the doctor." Link said, he picked Willie, (and Mia) up and headed for the door, Navi followed him.

"Kendra! Kendra I need your help!" Link said, he was standing in front of her door.

The door flew open and Kendra stood there, she gasped at the sight of Willie.

"Link what- oh my goddesses." She said, "quickly, bring him in." she said, Link nodded and walked inside, setting Willie down on the couch. Kendra practically shoved poor Link out of the way and began to examine Willie. Mia cuddled back up against Willie and fell asleep, purring the whole time.

"oh, my," she said as she felt his forehead. "I think I know what's wrong." She said. "what is it?" Link said anxiously.

"he has pneumonia, it's a type of respritory disease." She said. "how do we cure it?" Link asked.

"I have a few weaker medicines that can help Willie feel better, but you'll have to find someone who knows the actual cure." Kendra said.

"mom. What are Link and Willie doing here?" a voice said, Link and Kendra turned around to see Kari standing at the foot of the stairs.

Kendra and Link glanced at each other. "honey, this may seem hard to believe… but Willie is very, very sick, we're gonna take care of him for a while." She said. Kari glanced around Kendra and Link and saw Willie on the couch, he was drenched with sweat, and his chest was heaving from struggling to breath.

"how can I help?" Kari asked, Link and Kendra looked surprised, they both knew Kari wasn't the best of friends with Willie. Kendra glanced over at Willie.

"why don't you keep him company while Link and I get some medicine? I know seeing you will help him feel better." She said, Kari took a deep breath and nodded. She walked over to Willie and knelt beside him on the couch, still in her pjs.

Kendra nodded towards the kitchen and she and Link head in, Kednra closed the door behind her and started searching for the medicine.

"what's wrong?" Link asked, Kendra turned to him. "at this rate, the medicine I have can only help him for so long, you need to find someone who knows where to find the cure." Kendra said, she bit her lip and glanced at the door before adding in a whisper.

"Willie's growing weaker, he doesn't have much time left. You have to hurry." Kendra said.

"I know exactly who to ask." Link said, the perfect person popping into his mind.

"then hurry. We'll take care of Willie." Kendra said. She walked past Link and out the door, carrying the medicine for Willie.

"Navi." Link said, Navi flew up to him. "yes Link?" she said. Link took a deep breath. "Kendra says that Willie doesn't have much time left, we need to find medicine, and fast." He said. Navi nodded.

"do you know where to find the medicine?" she asked, Link shook his head.

"no. but I know someone who does."

--------------------------------------------------------

"Link, where are we going?" Navi asked.

Link and Navi were in Hyrule field, riding Epona towards whoever Link had in mind.

"we're headed for lake Hylia Navi, to see the professor." Link said,

flashback

"_no. But I know someone whos does." Link said, "who?" Navi asked, but Link just shook his head and left the kitchen. Navi followed him as he walked over to Kendra._

"_I'm going to go find a cure for Willie." He said, Kendra nodded. "do you have any idea what the cure is or where to find it?" she asked, Link shook his head._

"_no, but of friend of mine will." He said, Kendra looked a bit confused._

"_he's a friend of mine back from when I was seventeen." Link said, Kendra nodded._

"_the goddesses be with you." She said, Link nodded and headed for the door, glancing back at his son one last time before heading to the barn to get Epona._

End flashback

"that's brilliant Link! The professor will know where to get the cure for Willie!" Navi said, Link grinned. "exactly." He said.

He urged Epona faster, and soon the trio were riding up to the frofessor's house at lake Hylia. Link jumped off Epona and left her to graze outside, he knocked on the door, Navi decided to wait with Epona. She didn't like the professor very much. He tried to experiment on her the last time she was here.

"professor?" Link said, opening the door and looking inside. Everything was dark, Link walked inside, wondering what in the world was going on.

Suddenly. A baseball sized rock flew out from the shadows behind Link aiming straight for him! Link caught the rock in his hand before it could hit him in the head and turned around. "professor. What are you doing?" he asked.

A man stepped out of the shadows. "Link? Is that you? You gave me a scare there for a second! Throught you were an intruder or something!" he said.

Link sweat dropped. "professor, do you really think a rock could knock out an intruder?" the professor laughed. "well, actually, no." he said, Link sweat dropped again. The professor laughed again.

"well, Link you obviously needed something, unless you came out here out of the goodness of your heart to visit me?" the professor said.

"actually, I need something." Link said, the professor sighed. "oh well, beggers can't be choosers." He said, he turned to Link. "so what is it you need help with it?"

"Willie's sick, and I need you to help me find the cure." Link said. "ah! You want my me to use my skill and make a potion to heal your son!" the professor said, raising one arm. (Link sweat dropped) "no, actually, I want you to tell me where to find the cure." He said.

"ah yes. So tell me, what unfortunate sickness has the mini Link caught?" the professor asked. "pneumonia." Link said.

"ah, how lucky for you I have a book that tells us the cure!" the professor said, leading Link into a library that had bottles with strange liquids in them.

"what's in this professor?" Link asked, pointing to a jar with a tube like thing in it. Thje professor glanced up from his book search. "oh, that's the throat of a Hylian." He said. Link grimaced and rubbed his own throat.

"I'm sorry I asked." He muttered. "here's the book!" the professor said, pulling a large, dusty book out of the bookshelf and holding it up. Link walked over and snached it out of his hands.

"what's the name of the cure?" he asked, opening the book and glancing at the professor.

"dragon's bone." The professor said, "it's a very rare herb, the book should tell you where to find it." Link flipped throught the book to the page on Dragon's bone.

"it says here it grows only in… the forest of Platoana!" Link said, he snapped the book closed. "professor, do you know how far Platoana is from Hyrule?!" he snapped, the professor shrugged. "I've heard rumors." He said.

"Platoana is nearly on the other side of the world! I'll never make it in time!" Link said, slamming the book down on the table. (Plat-o-a-na)

"you know, there are several merchants in Hyrule that sometimes have the dragon's bone herb." The professor said, Link's head shot up.

"there are?" he said, the professor nodded. "yes, but in return, they demand something just as rare."

"what?" Link asked, the professor leaned over. "they desire the egg of a phoenix." He said. "and the only place to find a phoenix is in the middle of a swamp. There is a phoenix in Hyrule, she lives in the middle of moonlight swamp near Kokiri forest. But it is very dangerous, many have gone into that swamp to retrieve her egg and have never returned." The professor said, Link listened carefully.

"well good luck!" he said, Link sweat dropped again.

"thanks for your help professor." He said dryly before leaving. The professor waved at him and shouted something about experimenting with his throat. Link ignored him and left, closing the door firmly behind him.

-------------------------------------------------------------

"Link! What did the professor say?" Navi asked as Link came back out, Link swung up on Epona.

"he said the herb we need to help Willie is very rare, and the only way to get it is to trade one of the merchants in Hyrule for it." Link said, kicking Epona. She headed for Hyrule field.

"Link, what do you have to trade for it?" Navi asked, her voice low. Link glanced away. "a phoenix egg." He said. Navi gasped. "a phoenix egg?! Are you out of your mind?! Link, phoenixs are on of the most dangerous creatures on earth!" she said.

"I know!" Link snapped, "I know." He said, "but I don't have a choice. Willie needs that herb, and I'm gonna get it."

"there has to be another way." Navi said, she tapped her chin. "maybe you could barter for something else? A precious jewel or a rare silk maybe…"

Link shook his head, "Navi, that's not going to work, we have to get the phoenix egg, just tell me how to stop a phoenix." He said.

"that's the problem Link, no one knows. Phoenixs are such powerful creatures that no one knows how to stop them." Navi said.

"can you tell me about them then?" Link asked, Navi nodded. "yes, I'll tell you everything I know." She said, "first off, phoenix's are said to be made of fire. That's because in some of the legends, people throught they saw them burst into flames…"

Navi told Link everything she knew about phoenixs, which wasn't much, concidering no one had ever been able to study them.

"ok Link, here's another one, how long do Phoenix's live?" Navi said, she and Link had just entered the swamp near Kokiri forest, and Navi was quizzing Link as he made his way through.

"they live to be around 600, give or take a few centuries." Link said, using the master sword to cut down several large vines in his path.

"and how long does it take for their eggs to hatch?" Navi asked, Link sighed and hacked through several bushes. "100 years Navi, females spend their whole lives watching over their eggs and teaching them to survive on their own." Link said, he stopped as the two reached the edge of a murky pond.

"ewww, discusting." Navi said, covering her nose, the water smelled terrible.

"there's no way I'm going in there Navi." Link said, he glanced around, spotting a large vine about twenty feet above him.

"that'll do." He said, he pulled out his fairy bow and an arrow, aiming his arrow for the edge of the vine.

He pulled the string back and let the arrow fly. The arrow headed straight for the vine and cut through it, causing one of the pieces to fall right in front of Link. Link grinned and grabbed the vine, using it to swing across the discusting pond.

"that's what I call using your head Navi." Link said, pushing several bushes aside and making his way through them. Navi grinned and rolled her eyes before flying after him.

-0-

"L-Link, I think t-this swamp needs a new name." Navi said, it was several minutes later, and the two had run into several of those lizard things (I forget what they're called)

"I say we rename it terror swamp." Link said, holding up the master sword and pulling his shield off his back.

"it's perfect." Navi said, she dove into his hat to stay out of the way, or at least, that's what she told Link. The truth was, Navi had always been afraid of those dumb lizard things. (lafinos? laifzos? Something like that)

Dumb old lizards.

The first of the three lizards charged at Link, sword raised high. Link brought his sword up and blocked the attack before swiping his sword over the lizard's middle. The lizard squeaked and jumped back a little. He and Link circled for a minute before the lizard jumped at Link again. Link sighed, didn't these lizards ever learn?

Once again Link blocked the creature's attack and slashed him in the middle. The creature let out another squeak and leaped back over to his comrads, throwing Link a dirty look as he did.

The second of the lizards charged forwards next, this time trying to stab him instead of slash him. But Link was well trained, as well as prepared. He slammed the master sword down on top of the lizard's sword, causing the lizard to drop the sword. Link slashed at him several times, and the monster disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The third lizard leaped at him, angry over his comrad's death. But instead of using his sword to block the attack, Link rolled the the right and jumped up, slashing the surprised lizard in the back. The lizard hissed at him and swiped at him again. Link ducked and blocked with his shield.

The lizard rasied his sword to slash at Link again, but Link took the master sword and stabbed upward, hitting the lizard in the stomach. The lizard dissolved in a puff of smoke.

"two down, one to go." Link said, catching his breath. The last lizard glared furiously at him before jumping over him, just as his 2nd comrad had done.

But Link was not so easily fooled. He crouched down low, holding his shield up in front of him. The lizard's sword hit Link's shield and bounced back, temerarily parilizing him. Link grinned and slashed the lizard several times until he disinigrated into dust.

Link sighed and put his shield away, the master sword still in his hand.

"it's alright Navi, you can come out now." Link said, glancing over his shoulder. Navi flew out of Link's hat and hovered above him. "thank goodness!" she said. Link grinned at her.

"let's keep going." He said. He began pushing his way through the bushes, cursing as the thorns cut his clothes and snagged his skin. "---- thorns." He muttered, unhooking himself from a large thorn that had snagged onto his arm and cut him.

"ok, that's it." Link said, he began using the master sword to cut away the bushes. "These thorns-" he cut several bushes away, "-are really-" he cut several more, "-starting to-" several more bushes went down, "-annoy me!" Navi hovered above him and rolled her eyes, trying hard not to grin.

Link cut the last few bushes away and stopped, a pond was in front of them, but this pond was evidentally different than the other ponds. The water was a crystal blue, and the slightest touch made the water ripple. Link could even see the bottom, which was covered in smooth stones of all colors.

(he he, I have a picture for this scene that I found on the internet, the picture's called 'Link and Arya')

The trees around the pond were covered in blossoms, the petals falling and landing on the crystal water, sending ripples through it.

"I think we're getting close." Link said, he walked to the edge of the pond.

"now this pond I have no trouble walking through," Link said, grinning at Navi. Navi rolled her eyes and flew across the pond, her arms crossed.

Link stepped down into the water, which went up to about his mid-thighs.

"we don't have all day you know." Navi said impatiently, her arms crossed. Link rolled his eyes and started waddling through the water, stopping when a woman suddenly appeared.

She was wearing a short blue skirt that ended mid-thighs, and a blue shirt that ended mid-stomach. A crystal amulet hung from her neck, and her long blue hair fell down her back and ended at her waist.

"lookie here! A handsome stranger has wondered into my pond." She said, she giggled and walked over the water to Link, leaning down in front of him till her face was inches from his. Link backed away, he was beginning to feel awkward. (by the way, Link's about 27-28 years old, he and Zelda got married when they were 17 or 18, so he's still really young.)

"um, sorry. I didn't mean to tresspass." Link said, the woman giggled. "so noble. Do you know who I am?" she asked, her voice as delicate as a crystal bell. Link didn't answer.

"I am a water fairy, and this is my home. The water here is magic, it heals wounds." Link glanced at his arms and noticed his cuts had healed. "-as well as gives you temperary strenght." The fairy finished.

Meanwhile, Navi was furious. How dare this fairy show up and try to distract Link from saving Willie?! Navi snorted and looked away, her glow a reddish color.

"what's your name?" the fairy asked, playing with Link's bangs. "uh, Link." Link said, trying to edge away from the fairy. "aww! That's such a cute name! My name is Arya! But you can call me Arya!" the fairy said, Navi rolled her eyes. "a fairy called Arya, how original."

Arya must have heard her, for she glared at Navi before returning her attenton to Link.

"so Link… what brings you to the forest?" she asked, still playing with his bangs.

"I'm looking for the phoenix that lives here, do you know where she lives?" Link asked, wincing as she ran her hand down his cheek.

"she lives a bit farther into the swamp." Arya said, returning to playing with Link's hair. "why are you looking for Neera anyway?" Arya asked. (Neera means Destructing, and Phoenix means dark, dark destruction)

"I need to get her egg." Link said, Arya gasped dramaticly. "you're going after Neera's egg? You must be brave, many have sought Neera's egg and have not returned." She said, this time playing with Link's Hylian ears. She noticed the master sword.

"so you're the hero of time!" she said, she giggled and scooted closer to him.

Navi flew between Link and Arya. "we know!" she snapped, her glow a deep red. "but it's very important that we find that egg!" she said, Link and Arya stared at her in surprise. Arya sniffed. "fine, go north and you'll find Neera's nest, but be careful, she tends to like to crush people's skulls with her claws." She said, grinning at Link and Navi.

Link and Navi ignored her and headed for the north end of the pond, "oh, and come back to my pond if you are hurt in battle Link." Arya said, waving at him from her spot in the middle of the pond.

Link shuddered and climped out of the pond, surprised as he noticed that his tunic was completely dry.

"com' on Link! Let's hurry!" Navi said, pointing in the direction Arya had said to go. "Willie needs that medicine!" she said. Link nodded and started using the master sword to cut down the plants in his path. As they got closer, they could hear the sound of something big flying around.

At last Link stepped into a clearing, he quickly covered his nose. The area smelled like blood and rotting meat.

Glacning around, he noticed a large pile of sticks on top of a giant rock, two large, basketball sized objects sitting in the middle of it.

"that must be Neera's nest." Link muttered, he took a few steps closer.

Something large suddenly landed in front of Link, making him fall back. Looking up, he saw a twenty-foot tall bird in front of him, the bird's feathers were red, yellow and gold, and looked as if they were made with fire.

The bird opened it's beak and roared at Link, causing him to wince and scoot back a foot or two.

The battle had begun.

-0-

**Oh yeah! Total cliff hanger! So what'd you think? Did it have enough adventure and comedy in it? Also, I would really appreciate it if you would tell mre in reviews if I'm doing ok with spelling and capitalization and stuff, and if there's any changes you think I should do, let me know! **

**I also need some ideas, spacifically for the age of 14, 15, 17, 18 and 19, pretty much everything except 16, so if you have any ideas, let me know! I could use a few. And of course, I'll give you credit for the idea.**

**Please review! and keep an eye out for the next chapter-_ Link's agonizing journey, part 2._**

**Love you all! Review!**

**Anime Wildfire**


	11. Link's agonizing journey, part II

**I am soo sorry everyone! I've had this chapter done for a while, but my internet got taken off again and my dad's computer wouldn't let me upload it one his.**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter you've all been waiting for. I actually liked the way the end turned out, it was going to be different, but I ended up doing it this way instead. Also, I decided to have a prize for the person who gives me my 100th review. I'll have details at the bottom. But for now, on with the story! Please review!**

**Anime Wildfire**

chapter 11, Link's agonizing journey, part 2.

_The bird opened it's beak and roared at Link, causing him to wince and scoot back a foot or too._

_The battle had begun._

-0-

Kendra carried the bowl of water over to the couch and sat next to Kari. She was sitting next to Willie, watching him and waiting for any sign that he was getting better.

"how is he?" Kendra asked her daughter, setting the bowl of water and cloth down next to it. Kari sighed and glanced at her mother.

"he's not getting any better, but he's not getting worse." Kari said. She took the cloth her mother had brought and dipped it into the water, Kendra stood up and left, leaving Willie in Kari's care.

Kari wrung the water out of the cloth and placed on Willie's forehead to cool him down. His eyes flickered open and he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Kari noticed his eyes open and she smiled.

"Willie, you're awake. How are you feeling?" she asked. Willie managed to grin. "better, now that I know you're caring for me." He said. Kari smiled at him and leaned over to feel his forehead.

"you feel a little warm." She said, she placed the back of her hand on his cheek. He closed his eyes at her touch.

"you have a fever." She said. She dunked the cloth back in the water before placing it back on his forehead.

"where's my dad?" Willie asked, "he went to try and find medicine for you. But don't worry, I'm sure he's fine."

-0-

Link winced and ducked to avoid Neera's angry claws as she swiped at him.

"oh yeah, all they desire in return is another rare item." Link said in a girlie voice, he ducked again as Neera snapped at him.

"ok Navi! A little help would be greatly appreciated!" he said, dodging more of Neera's vitious attacks.

"um, um," Navi started. "spit it out Navi!" Link cried, jumping aside to avoid flames shot at him.

Navi mentally scolded herself and tried to relax. "ok, um… Link! Phoenix's can't see the color red! Stand by something red and she won't be able to see you!" she said.

"that's great advice Navi, but we're in the middle of a SWAMP, how am I suppost to find anything red?!" Link asked, picking up a small rock and throwing it at Neera. She only roared and grew more angry.

"brilliant Link, make her even madder at you." Navi said.

"well there aren't exactly a whole lot of options here!" Link said, pulling the master sword and his shield off his back.

"try propping her mouth open with something!" Navi said, Link rolled to the side again.

"With what?!" Link asked, swiping at Neera. "use your shield!" Navi said. Link nodded at her and made his way as close as possible to Neera by ducking to avoid her claws and fangs.

"stick it right between her beak!" Navi said, the tension was rising. Link leaped forward and managed to shove his shield between Neera's two beaks before running back a few feet.

For a minute, it looked like it would work. But then Neera snarled and bit down on the shield, snapping it into pieces.

Link stared in horror at the broken pieces of his shield at his feet. He shot a glare at Navi.

"sorry!" Navi said, wincing as Neera's talons finally made contact with Link. Sending him flying into the trunk of a nearby tree. He hit the trunk with a sickening crunch and slid to the ground. Navi instantly flew over.

"Link! Link are you ok!" Navi said, hovering in front of Link's face. Link glanced over at her, still a bit woosy.

"Link! How many wings do you see?" Navi asked, glancing over her shoulder as Neera roared again.

"f-four." Link muttered.

"close enough!" Navi said, she pushed Link's cheek as hard as she could. "Link! Come one! You've got to get up and get that egg! For Willie!" she said, Link shook his head and nodded. "right!" he said. He jumped to his feet and glanced around. When Neera had hit him, he had dropped the master sword. He could see it now, it had fallen into the middle of one of the ponds, the handle was sticking out of the water.

"oh brilliant." Link said, "now what?" Navi glanced over at the master sword and grimaced.

"you're gonna have to jump in there and get it you know." She said.

"thanks Navi." Link muttered dryly. He took a deep breath. "it's now or never." He said. He waited until Neera was distracted by her two egg's warmth, then he took off, running straight towards the pond. Neera didn't even notice him.

Link took a diving leap and dived into the pond. The water bubbled for a second, then Link burst out of the water and climbed to the shore, the master sword in his hand. Navi cheered and flew over to him.

"great job Link!" she said, she covered her nose. "but now you need to take about five showers." Link rolled his eyes and focused on Neera, whom had just noticed him and glared at him so fiercly it sent shivers down his spine.

As soon as Link took one step forward, Neera shot out of her nest and landed in front of it, towering above Link by at least fifteen feet. Link lifted the master sword higher and raced at her, swiping at her when she tried to bite him.

Just as Link was about to reach the rock the eggs were on, Neera's claw's slammed down in front of him. Link quickly dove into a crevice in the rock.

Neera tried to pull him out, but her claws missed Link and she cried out in anger. Link took a deep breath and peeked out of the rock.

Neera was busy tending to her eggs, all the while shooting glances at the crevice Link was in.

Safe for the moment, Link noticed several thick vines hanging from the tree. A plan instantly formed in his mind.

_Let's hope this works. _He thought, he braced himself, and when Neera looked away he launched himself out of the hole and raced straight for the vines, Neera roared as soon as he came out and snapped at him, but he ducked and raced past her until he reached the tree.

"Link?! What are you doing?" Navi asked as Link began cutting down the thick vines with the master sword.

"I've got a plan!" Link replied, he cut down several more vines.

"what's this master plan?" Navi asked, sitting on Link's shoulder.

"I'm gonna use the vines to tie Neera down!" he said, "how're you gonna do that?" Navi asked. Link pointed to the top of the rock wall behind Neera.

"see that wall? I'm going to take several of the vines up there, then I'm gonna throw them over Neera and use them to tie her up." Link said, a grin on his face.

"why don't you just kill her?" Navi asked, Link glanced at him boots. "I don't want to have to kill her unless it's completely necessary." He said.

Navi nodded, she understood that.

"Navi, I need you to distract Neera while I get these vines ready." Link said.

"oh no, no no no no no no." Navi said, slowly flying away. "please Navi? I need your help. Do it for Willie." Link said, Navi sighed.

"alright, I'll do it for Willie." She said. She sighed and flew out towards Neera.

"hey Neera! Bet you can't catch me…" she taunted. While Navi kept Neera busy, Link snuck past her and climbed up the small rock wall. He had tied the other end of the vines to the tree, so once he tossed the vines over Neera and tied them to a rock, she wouldn't be able to move.

Link held the vines up and waited for Neera to get close enough.

"come on Navi… come on." He muttered, Neera moved a little bit closer and…

Link quickly threw the vines over Neera, she immediately began to flap her wings and struggle to escape. Link quickly jumped down and grabbed the ends of the vines before tieing them to a rock.

"we got her!" Link said. He walked around Neera until he was right in front of her. She struggled to escape, her eys filled with fury as she snarled at Link.

"great job Link! Now get one of those eggs so we can leave!" Navi said, jumping as Neera snorted at her. Link rolled his eyes and climbed up the rock to where Neera's eggs were.

For a moment he stood there, just staring at the eggs. He glanced over at Neera, and was surprised to see her eyes filled with sadness. His own eyes softened and he turned to Navi, who was floating next to him.

"I can't do it." He said, Navi stared at him as if he'd just grown two heads.

"What? Why not?" she asked. Link glanced back down at Neera. "just look at her, she's so sad." He said. Navi softened a bit. "she does look a bit sad." She said, she sighed.

"alright," she said, Link grinned and jumped down from the rock. He grabbed the master sword, which was propped in the ground next to the tree, and used it to cut the vines off Neera.

Neera roared and stared at him, Link backed away a few feet. Neera's eyes narrowed at Link before she gently touched her eggs with her beak.

She turned to Link and again, and seemed to be saying something.

_Come._

Then she turned and started walking into the forest, Link glanced at Navi, who shrugged and the two followed Neera farther into the swamp.

"where is she taking us?" Link whispered to Navi as they walked on. Navi shrugged, "beats me." She said.

Finally Neera led them into a meadow in the middle of the swamp. She led them over to a plant growing in the middle of the meadow and gently touched it with her beak. Link stared at the plant before pulling a piece of paper from his pocket. It was the picture of the dragon's bone plant from the book the professor had shown Link.

Quick flashback

"_it says here it grows only in… the forest of Platoana!" Link said, he snapped the book closed, secretly slipping a small piece of paper into his tunic as he did._

End quick flashback

"Navi… this plant, it's the dragon's bone." He said, Navi gasped. "but how is that possible?!" Link glanced back at the picture.

"it looks exactly the same, and looks exactly as the book described it." Link said, he stuck the piece of paper into his pocket and glanced up at Neera.

"did you lead us to this?" he asked, Neera leaned her head down and gently nuzzled Link's arm. He grinned and stroked her beak.

"thank you." He said, Neera cooed softly. Link pulled a small bag out of his tunic and filled it with the dragon's bone herb. Then he, Navi and Neera headed back to Neera's nest.

"thank you Neera, for leading me to the herb." Link said, Neera leaned down and nuzzled his cheek with her beak, Link grinned and stroked her beak.

"Looks like someone has made a new friend." Navi said, she smiled. Link grinned at her.

"let's go home Navi, I'm sure Willie and the others are waiting for us." He said, he waved to Neera and started heading back through the swamp. Luckily, they didn't run into Arya the water fairy, much to both Link and Navi's relief.

They rode Epona back to Kendra's house, where Kendra used the herb Link had brought to make some medicine for Willie. The rest they gave to the doctor's so it could be used to heal others who had caught Pneumonia.

Willie was better by the end of the week, and he begged Link to tell him how he got the herb. Kendra, Kate and Kari all agreed. So Link told them about his long, agonizing journey. Willie cheered at all the action parts, while Kari, Kate and Kendra all cried at the touchy ending.

-------------------------------------------------

"James, I swear, you can be so dumb sometimes." Zelda said, watching her husband coo at Erik. She and her husband James were sitting in the garden, their infant son in James's arms.

"what's wrong with being silly from time to time?" James said, handing his son over to Zelda. She sighed.

"nothing's wrong with it, it's just to easy for me to blackmail you!" she said. She smiled at her husband, the two may not be in love, but they were good friends and deeply respected each other.

"listen Zelda, I know this may be a sore topic, but… have you heard about your son Willie and how he's doing?" James asked.

(yes, he knows about Zelda, Link and Willie, but he doesn't mind. Zelda's husband is the good guy in this story)

Zelda stiffined. "no, I havn't heard anything about him. But I did see him a while ago, right after we learned about Erik's disease and I snuck out for some fresh air…" she said.

"how was he?" James asked. Zelda smiled at him. "he was so handsome, and he acted so normal. He had no idea who I was, but I could tell he trusted me…" Zelda trailed. James smiled at her.

"I'm glad he's doing ok then." He said, he glanced at Erik. "speaking of sons, what about Erik?"

"what about him?" Zelda said, James sighed. "will he ever be able to rule a country?" he wondered. Zelda frowned.

"I don't know." She said, "we'll just have to wait and see."

Zelda, James and Erik stayed in the garden for another hour or two, finally a maid came to tell them dinner was ready. The three headed in, thoughts of Erik's future on Zelda and James's minds.

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**wha'd ya think? Ok? Bad? Good? Please let me know!**

**Now, about the prize for the 100th review. The prize is going to be a story dedicated to the reviewer, but everyone can vote on which story is dedicated. I have three stories to choose from, but you can make a suggestion for one of my other stories if you like it better than these three.**

**and the three stories are...**

**1. Link's lullaby- **Once again Link and Zelda must save Hyrule from the clutches of the evil king, Ganondorf. But this time, to retrieve the legendary master sword from its pedestal, Link and Zelda find themselves doing something they never expected.

Meeting Link's parents.

**2. Sleeping beauty Zelda style-** no summery yet, it's basically the story of sleeping beauty with Zelda characters, and I'll change the story a bit, to make it more interesting.

**3. You'll be in my heart- After Inuyasha accidentally calls her Kikyo, Kagome accidentally wishes on the sacred jewel that she had never met Inuyasha. When Inuyasha went to apologize the next day, her wish came true, and she didn't remember him at all.**

**those are basically the three stories, I also welcome and story ideas if you want to make a suggestion.**

**See you next chapter **_of kittens and haunted houses._

**please review! **

**Anime Wildfire**


	12. Of kittens and haunted houses

**I am soooooooooooooooooo sorry! I never meant for this to take so long. This chaper is super long, over 4,000 words. I have no idea when the next chapter will be up, but it won't be as long as this one, I promise.**

**I just finished this chapter a minute ago, so it might have a few spelling errors. Sorry about that too.**

**Read and review and let me know how I'm doing, and any comments. I love comments, so feel free to leave any comment or idea at all.**

**Anime Wildfire**

"ok, now keep going. Don't stop. Watch out for the chair! That's it." Link said.

"Dad, where are you taking me?" Willie asked. He had a blindfold over his eyes, and was being led by Link.

Link had told Willie that he had a surprise for him, so he'd blindfolded him and was leading him to his surprise.

Link led Willie over to the table, where Willie's present was sitting.

"ok… almost there…" Link said. "and… stop." Willie stopped in front of the table.

"wella!" Link said, untying Willie's blindfold. Willie's jaw dropped in amazement.

A sword was sitting on the table, and exact copy of the master sword. The sheath was even the same, a dark blue with a gold design over it.

"so? What do you think?" Link said, Willie laughed. "this is the best presant ever! Thank you dad!"

Link grinnned at his 14-year-old son. Willie had certainly grown since those days when Link had taking him with him as he traveled around.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Are you going to show us what that think can do or not?" a voice said.

Surprised, Willie turned around and saw Kendra, Kate and Kari standing in the doorway, smiling. Or at least, Kendra and Kate were smiling. Kari was on the verge of smiling.

"go on." Kendra said, gesturing towards the sword. Willie nodded and turned to face Link, who was holding the real master sword.

"com' on, let's go to the training field." Link said, he led the way out the door.

-0-

a few minutes later, they were all standing at the training field. Kari, Kendra and Kate standing at the sides to watch.

"alright Willie, let's see how good you are." Link said, he lunged forward and slashed at Willie. Willie rolled to the side to avoid him and slashed at his feet. Link jumped to avoid it, backflipping out of the way and landing a few feet away.

Willie grit his teeth and raced towards Link, sword raised high. Just as Willie was about to hit Link, Link pulled his shield out and countered the attack. Surprised, Willie's sword hit the shield and bounced off, stinging his hands and making him fall back.

"is this all you have?" Link said in a teasing voice, he was trying to get Willie steamed up, and it was working.

Willie grit his teeth again and jumped to his feet. Turning around to face his father. The two circled for a minute, each watching each other, waiting for their next move.

Link suddenly stabbed at Willie, taking him by surprise. Willie's eyes widened and he jumped back to avoid the stab, naturally leaving himself unbalanced.

Link took the opportunity and and lunged forward, slashing at Willie over and over.

Willie saw it coming at the last second and quickly dropped to the ground, wincing as Link's sword slashed two inches above his face.

While Link was slashing as Willie, Willie saw an opportunity and kicked Link's feet, causing him to loose his balance and trip. Willie quickly jumped to his feet and raised his sword to Link's neck, grinning the whole time.

"I win dad, give it up. I know all your tricks." Willie said. Link grinned again and quickly shoved Willie's sword aside before backflipping to his feet. He grabbed his own sword and held it opposite to Willie's.

"not all my tricks son." Link said, grinning. Willie looked stunned that his father had managed to escape him so easily.

But before he could ponder it longer, Link attacked. Using his spin attack to try and unbalance Willie.

Unfortunatly for Link, Willie was beginning to catch on to his tricks and jumped in the air to avoid the spin attack, kicking Link in the back before jumping back and landing on his feet.

Link stumbled back, surprised by Willie's avoidance. Willie took the opportunity to throw his sword aside and leap at Link, knocking him to the ground. The two wrestled around for a minute before Link eventually was able to pin Willie down, being the stronger of the two.

On the side lines, Kendra, Kari and Kate all applauded as the two swordsman stood up, each picking up their own swords.

"that was amazing!" Kate said, running over to congratulate Willie. Kendra smiled at both of them.

"that was truly wonderful boys." She said. Kari just smiled and nodded.

The group headed back to their houses, the girls going home to fix a nice lunch and have some tea, the boys going home to eat some cold food and polish their swords.

-------------------------------------------------------

Several weeks later…

"they're almost here!" Kari said, coming out of Willie's bedroom. Willie's cat Mia was having kittens, and Willie had asked Kari to take care of Mia while she gace birth.

Willie and Kate were sitting in the living room, playing cards when Kari had come out. At the sound of her voice, they looked up from their game.

"are you sure?" Willie said, he and Mia were good friends, even if she was a cat and he was a Hylian.

Kari nodded. "I'm positive, It shouldn't be too long now." She said, then she turned and disappeared back into the room. Leaving Willie and Kate to play their game.

Link had left for a while, saying he needed something for his sword. He had departed rather quickly, leaving the others to stare after him.

Kendra had left as well, she said she had some shopping to do, and that she would be back later.

"kitten number one is here! And it's a girl!" Kari said, poking her head out the door.

"where? Where?" Willie said, abandoning his game with Kate and jumping to his feet. Kari shook her head.

"no no, girls only. Why don't you sit down? Your acting like a nervous father-to-be." Kari said, pulling her head back in and closing the door with a snap. Willie blushed and returned to his card game with Kate. Kate was trying her hardest not to laugh, he looked so cute when he blushed!

"kitten number two is a boy." Kari said, poking her head out. "wait till you see them, they're adorable!" Kari said before closing the door.

"why is she always like this?" Willie asked Kate, Kate shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno, she's weird, that's why." She said.

"you got any fours?" Kate asked, Willie shook his head. "nah, got any kings?"

"nope."

"ugh, fine, have any threes?"

"nope."

"how about sevens?"

"nope."

"… you're having fun with this, aren't you?"

"yep."

Willie groaned, "if you don't have any of those, then it's your turn." He said, Kate rolled her eyes and glanced down at her cards.

"you got any kings?" she said with a grin. Willie groaned and threw her one of his cards. She smiled and added it to her pile.

"number three is a boy!" Kari said, running out of the room. "he's adorable! All the cats are doing fine!" she said before running back inside. Willie and Kate stared after her.

"makes me wish I was adopted sometimes." She muttered, picking up another card from the pile and glancing at it.

The two played their game in silence for the next few minutes. After a while, Kari came running back outside.

"number 4 is a girl!" she said, "all the kittens have been born, would you two like to come see them?"

Willie and Kate stood up and followed Kari into Willie's bedroom. Mia was lying in her bed, her four kittens sleeping quietly.

"they're adorable." Kate said, cooing as she leaned down to pet Mia. Willie smiled and stroked Mia as well.

"yeah, they're really cute." He said.

---------------------------------------------------------------

"there is no way, no way at all."

"oh come on Kari, why not? It'll be fun." Piper said, she and Kari were walking to school.

"there is no way in Hyrule I am going to that dance." Kari said again.

Their school was having a halloween dance, and Piper was trying to get Kari to go.

"pleeeeeeeeeeease! You have to go! You won't make me go by myself, will you?" Piper said as the two approched the school.

"tell you what Piper, stop nagging me about it, and I'll think about. Ok?" Kari said, walking up the steps into the school.

"fine." Piper grumbled, following Kari into the school. They were greeted by Kate, who was standing in the doorway waiting for them.

"Hey Kari, Hey Piper." She said. Kari and Piper waved at her.

"so, you two going to the dance next week?" Kate asked, Kari threw her hands up in the air.

"why is everyone so obsessed with going to that dance!" she exclaimed.

"you mean the dance next week?" A voice said behind them. Kari, Kate and Piper all turned around to see Willie and Jason standing behind them.

Kari rolled her eyes. "yes I mean the dance next week! What other dance is there?!" she said.

"I'm trying to convince her to go to the dance, but she keeps saying no." Piper said.

"speaking of which…" Jason said, he wrapped his arm around Piper's shoulder, Piper stared at his arm in horror.

"you going to the dance with me, right?" he said, Piper rolled her eyes. "the day I go to the dance with you is the day moblins fly." She said, she pulled Jason's arm off her shoulder. Kari and Kate tried not to laugh.

"Well then I have a pretty good chance, don't I?" Jason said with a grin, Piper rolled her eyes.

"com'on girls. Let's go inside, those two are starting to annoy me." She said.

The three girls headed into the school house, leaving Willie and Jason at the entrance.

"so Kari, what's your favorite dessert?" Piper asked.

"give it up Piper, it's not going to work." Kari said, Piper shrugged.

"hey, it was worth a try."

--------------------------------------------------------

"Hey Kari, could I talk to you for a sec?" Willie asked, Kari paused from eating her lunch and stared at him, Piper nudged her in the arm, making her blink.

"uh… sure I guess." Kari said, she stood up and followed Willie to where his backpack was sitting on the steps.

"what do you want Willie?" Kari asked, sitting down on the steps.

"I've got something for you." Willie said, he reached into his backpack and pulled out one of Mia's kittens. Kari's jaw dropped open.

"Kari, would you go to the dance with me?" Willie asked, holding the kitten out to her.

"Willie, isn't this one of Mia's kittens?" Kari asked, Willie nodded. "yeah, I wanted you to have one, since Mia likes you and you did help deliver her kittens." Willie said. Kari took the kitten from Willie and gently stroked it.

"it's so cute." She said, Willie grinned. "it's a boy." He said, the little kitten meowed and stared up at Kari with big blue eyes.

"aww… Kari said, scratching the kitten behind the ears.

"so will you go with me?" Willie said, Kari glanced up at him. "I don't know, I'd have to think about it. Give me some time to think about it and I'll let you know." She said, Willie nodded and stood up, petting the kitten before returning to his lunch. Kari stood up and walked back over to Piper.

"wha'd he ask you?" Piper asked as Kari sat down next to her.

"he gave me a kitten and asked me to the dance." Kari said, she showed Piper the kitten.

"he's adorable! What are you going to name him?" Piper asked. Kari thought for a minute.

"I'll call him Hero. He seems like a little hero to me." She said, Piper smiled. "that's such a cute name." She said.

"Are you going to go to the dance with Willie?" she asked, Kari rolled her eyes.

"I don't know. I told him I'd have to think about it." She said, Piper sighed.

"Kari, you have to go to the dance with him!" Piper said, "do you know how many girls at this school would die just to go on a date with him?!" Piper said.

"I don't know Piper, going to the dance with Willie…" Kari said. "I've never really liked him very much." She said.

"that's why you have to go with him! You have to give him a chance." Piper said. Kari sighed.

"I'll think about it." She said, she took another bite of her sandwich and refused to talk about it anymore.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Kari! Wait up!" a voice called. Kari stopped walking and waited for Piper to catch up with her and her sister.

"have you… decided… to go to… the dance… with Willie?" Piper said, pausing to catch her breath.

"no! I haven't decided yet!" Kari snapped, she continued walking.

"oh come on Kari, you can't blame us for wanting to see go to the dance with Willie. He's a great guy, and he really likes you." Kate said, catching up with Kari.

"what she said." Piper said, coming up behind Kari.

"look! There's Willie and Jason now!" Kate said, the two boys were talking. But they stopped as the girls came up.

"hello ladies." Jason said. Willie just grinned.

"so Piper, have you decided to go to the dance with me?" Jason asked, putting his arm around her shoulder. Piper rolled her eyes and pushed his arm off her shoulder.

"I already told you, no. Now leave me alone." Piper said, she jogged after Kari.

"what's the matter with them?" Willie asked, Kate sighed.

"Kari's mad because Piper keeps pressuring her into going to the dance with you, and Piper's mad because Jason keeps pressuring her into going to the dance with him. But don't worry, they'll calm down. Just give them some time." Kate said, jobbing to catch up with Kari and Piper. Jason and Willie glanced at each other before racing after the three girls, not really wanting to be left behind. They caught up to the girls just as Piper said-

"Come on Kari, it's not that hard, just say 'Yes Willie, I'll go to the dance with you.'"

"No way, and not a force in the world can make me change my mind!" Kari said.

"I dare you." Piper said, Kari stopped in her tracks and glanced at Piper. "that's not fair, your taking advantage of me." She said. Piper grinned. Kari had never turned down a dare before.

"what's the dare." Kari said. Piper grinned and glanced at the house the too were standing in front of. It was an old house, owned by some man that had died years ago. All the kids in the neighborhood said it was haunted by the ghost of a boy and his sister who'd died in the house years ago.

"I dare you and Willie to stay the whole night in the haunted house, if you get too scared and run out, you lose and have to go to the dance with Willie. If you manage not to leave the house the entire night, I'll stop nagging you about going to the dance with Willie." Piper said. Kari glared at her.

"I'm in." Willie said. The girls spun around, they haden't even known the boys were there. Piper turned back to Kari and grinned. "Willie's in, how about you?"

All eyes turned to Kari. She sighed and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "I guess I have no choice. All right, I'll do it." She said. Piper grinned and pumped her fist.

"so when are we doing this?" Kari asked, she was beginning to get impatient.

"tonight, the four of use will meet here around nine o'clock." Piper said. Jason and Willie both nodded. Kari sighed and nodded as well.

"what about me?" Kate asked, her hand on her hips." Kari rolled her eyes. "Kate, you can't come. It's just the four of us." She said.

"I'll tell mom, so unless you don't want to get in big trouble, you'd better let me come." Kate said. Kari groaned.

"fine, you can wait out here with Jason and Piper." She said. Kate smiled, satisfied she'd been allowed to come.

"com' on Kate, let's get going. Mom'll get worried." Kari said, she turned and started walking, waving to Piper as she did. Kate waved and ran after her sister. Willie looked over at Jason and Piper before following Kari and Kate. Making Piper and Jason grin.

"he's like a puppy following his master." Piper said, Jason just grinned. The two turned and headed toward their homes, both of them thinking about the adventure taking place that night.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Kari and Kate quickly slipped out of their front door and closed it behind them. Both were wearing long, dark cloaks.

"shhh! We have to be quiet!" Kari hissed when Kate sneezed. Kate shrugged weakly. "sorry." She whispered. Kari glanced around and spotted Willie standing by his front door. He waved at them. Kate waved back.

Willie jogged over to the two girls. "you two ready?" he asked. Kari and Kate both nodded and the three friends headed off, arriving at their destination a few minutes later.

Piper and Jason were already there, standing by the front gate of the house. Piper waved as they aprroched and jogged over to Kari.

"alright you two, no making out while we're in there." Willie said with a grin. Jason rolled his eyes and Piper glared at him.

Kari pulled off her cloak and handed it to Piper. "there's no use using a cloak in a pitch black house." Kari said. Piper nodded.

"have fun in there you two!" she teased as they headed up towards the house. Kari looked back and glared at Piper before following Willie into the haunted house.

Willie closed the door behind him and the two glanced around the room, Kari wrinkling her nose at all the dirt and dust.

"this place is so gross." She said. Glancing into a grimy mirror on the wall. Willie shrugged and peered at an aging book case before turning to Kari.

"so, what do you want to do? We have the rest of the night." He said, Kari rolled her eyes.

"men, so impatient." She said, noticing a dusty picture on the wall. She walked over and brushed some of the dust off with her hands.

A young couple smiled back at her, a man of about 19 or 20 and a young woman about 18, her stomach was big, and is was obvious that she was pregnant.

Kari smiled at the picture and sighed. Willie walked over to see what she was sighing about. He glanced over her shoulder at the picture.

"what's so special about a picture?" he asked, Kari glanced at him.

"they're a young couple, newly married and living on their own. That's every girl's dream. To get married to her dream guy and raise a family." She said, she ran her finger down the picture.

"I just wonder what happened to them." She said. she stared at the picture for a minute before walking away.

"why don't we explore the house? Like you said, we've got the whole night." She said, she headed for the stairs.

"Kari wait!" Willie cried before she stepped on the stairs, he raced over and grabbed her arm.

"ow, that hurts, now what is it?" Kari asked, prying his hand off her wrist.

"these steps could be dangerous, let me go first." He said, he carefully stepped up on the first step, testing how much weight it would hold. Then he moved slowly up the stairs, testing each step to be sure it was safe.

"alright Kari, it's safe, you can come up now." Willie said, Kari sighed and walked up the stairs.

"you're not going to be like this all night are you?" Kari asked once she reached the top. Willie shrugged.

"it's better to be safe than sorry." He said as Kari pushed open the door to the first room. She gasped at what was inside.

-0-

meanwhile, Piper, Kate and Jason were talking.

"what so you think they're doing in there?" Kate wondered, leaning against the fence, Piper shrugged.

"If I know Kari, she's probably on one side of the room while Willie's probably on the other." She said.

"why doesn't Kari like Willie?" Kate asked, turning to look at Piper and Jason. They glanced at each other.

"Well Kate, it's my belief that Kari's in deny, she does like Willie, but doesn't show it." Piper said.

"but why wouldn't she want Willie to know? Willie really likes her." Kate said, Piper sighed and joined Kate against the fence.

"sometimes love's complicated. Maybe another reason Kari doesn't like Willie is because he shows off around her and trys to impress her. I bet if he acted normal for once and was truly himself around her, she'd find it hard not to like it." Piper said.

"Willie once talked to me about Kari." Jason said, joining the two girls by the fence.

"he also wondered why Kari didn't like him. He said all he wants is her attention. For her to like him. And he doesn't understand why she doesn't." Jason said, Piper stared at him in surprise.

"you actually said something smart." She said, Jason shrugged his shoulders.

"hey, even a guy like me can have his moments." He said. Piper watched him for a minute.

"you know Jason. I change my mind, maybe I will go to the dance with you." She said. Jason's head jerked in her direction.

"y-you really will?" he said, Piper nodded. "it's like I said, maybe if Willie showed his true self to Kari she'd accept him." She said, smiling at him. Jason's eyes widened and he grinned.

"did I miss something here?" Kate asked. Both Piper and Jason mentally groaned, they'd completely forgotten that Kate was there.

"don't worry about it Kate, it's nothing of interest to you." Piper said, a light blush on her cheeks.

"then why are you blushing?"

"I'm not blushing!"

"yes you are!"

"no I'm not!

"come on Piper, admit it, you're blushing."

"I'm not blushing!"

"yes you are!"

"Grr... Enough of this! We're suppost to be making sure Kari doesn't leave before morning!" Piper said. She returned to watching the house.

"you were so blushing…" Kate muttered.

-0-

Inside was a little girl's bedroom. A small white bed was pushed against one wall. A pink dresser was against another, the top covered in pictures and small trinkets.

"careful Kari…" Willie said as Kari stepped forward. She knelt down and picked up a small cloth doll off the floor, the doll had hair made of yarn, eyes made of buttons, and a mouth made with a pencil. Even though it was simple, it was most likely the girl's favorite toy.

Kari felt tears well up in her eyes. The doll dropped to the floor as Kari let out a sob and buried her hands in her face.

"Kari?! What's the matter?!" Willie asked, rushing over and kneeling down next to her.

"i-it's just… the little girl who lived here was probably killed… and never got to grow up. Never got to go to school… or fall in love… or get married." Kari managed to say,

Willie took a step forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "hey, it's ok, think about how happy that little girl probably is right now." He said. Kari nodded slowly and got to her feet.

"sometimes… I worry that I might never make it either. That I'll die and miss out on so many things, like falling in love and getting married. Or raising children of my own." She said, she glanced off into the distance.

"but that's just silly I guess." She said. Willie shook his head.

"no, it isn't." he said.

-0-

"how much longer till morning?" Kate asked, pacing besides the fence. Piper groaned again.

"for the last time Kate, it's not even eleven yet. If you're going to be so impatient, then you're better off going home." Piper said. Kate immediately stopped complaining.

"maybe we should all take turns." Jason said, "we can swich every two to three hours. That way we can each get some sleep." He said. Piper brightened.

"sounds good to me, why don't I take the first shift? Then you two can get some sleep. I'll wake one of you up in an hour or two." She said. Jason and Kate nodded before leaning against the fence with their eyes closed. With in minutes, Piper could tell by their breathing that they were asleep.

-0-

Willie and Kari left the little girl's room, closing the door behind them. Suddenly, they heard a thud down the stairs.

"what was that?" Kari said, Willie shrugged and glanced down the hallway towards the stairs. Curiousity got the best of them, because seconds later they were heading back down the stairs to investigate.

"this place is so creepy." Kari said, clinging to Willie's arm. Willie glanced around the room.

"I think it came from this way." he said, heading through a door on the left. Kari followed him, still clinging to his arm.

The door led to a very large and spacious kitchen. A layer of dust covered everything in the room. Kari let go of Willie's arm and ran her finger over the counter, leaving a white spot behind. She wrinkled her nose.

"This place must not have been used in years." She said, walking back over to Willie. He nodded. Another thud echoed in the room. Both Kari and Willie glanced at a door on the right, the direction the sound had come from.

"come on, this way." Willie said, walking through and pushing the door open. The door led a beautiful dining room. China plates were on the table, completely decorted with candlesticks and plastic flowers.

"it's beauiful." Kari said, she walked to the other side of the room and glanced around, "it's like they were having a big dinner." She said. Willie grinnned.

Suddenly the ceiling collapsed, filling the room with dust and pieces of the ceiling.

"KARI!" Willie shouted, trying to make his way over to where he had last seen Kari.

"Willie!" Kari shouted. "help!"

**Thank you all for being so patient for this chapter, I didn't even realize how long it was till I upleaded it here. The next chapter'll probably be a bit shorter, but I'm not sure yet.**

**Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or anything you want to see happen to Willie and Kari or any ideas about them or anything, let me know! I accept any ideas, even if I don't use them all, I still want to know what your ideas are and what you want to see in the story.**

**See you all soon! Please review!**

**Anime Wildfire**

**P.S. 22 people have added this story to their favorites, and 26 people have added it to their story alerts. Thanks to all those people who added it to their favorites or alerts. I don't have time to write all your names down, but you all know who you are! See you!**


	13. of kittens and haunted houses II

**I feel so incredibly bad, It's been at least a month or more since I last updated. I'm soooooooo sorry everyone! I was just realllllllly busy for the last few weeks had no time to type whats so ever, I had difficulties doing my homework as well. But now I'm completly free!!!!!!! At least for now, my school's having a play in a week or two and then we're going on a trip for a while. But after that school will be out for me and I'll have all summer to update! Ya!**

**now on with the story! And thanks to all my lovely reviewers! I GOT ! 100 REVIEWS!!! I'M SO SYCHED!!!!**

**Read and Review!**

**Anime Wildfire**

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"_KARI!" Willie shouted, trying to make his way over to where he had last seen Kari._

"_Willie!" Kari shouted. "help!"_

-0-

"Kari! Where are you?!" Willie called.

"I'm over here!" Willie heard her shout back. He peered through the dust, trying to see her.

"I can't see you through the dust!" Willie said.

"Willie! It looks like the dining room ceiling collapsed! I can't get to you through the rubble! We're gonna have to find another way around!" Kari said. Willie cursed under his breath.

"alright! Just be careful!" he said.

"I will!" Kari said.

"you'd better be." Willie said.

-0-

Glancing around through all the dust, Kari noticed a door behind her. Ahe quickly walked over and pulled it open before ducking inside.

"I hope Willie's ok…" she said, turning around and glancing around the room. She gasped.

The room was a jinormous library, the bookshelves were so tall ladders were needed to reach the top bookshelf.

(the ceil is like two stories high, and there's a balcony leading to more books on the second floor.)

"Wow…" Kari said, her jaw practically hanging open. Behind her, the door slowly closed, making a loud creaky noise.

Kari's face turned white. She walked over to the door and opened, surprised to see a brick wall on the other side.

"what? But that was just..." she trailed off. She shuddered and closed the door.

"this place is way too creepy for my taste…" she said. She glanced around the room again, and noticed a door on the other side of the room. She quickly raced over and opened it, nearly fainting at what she saw.

A wall of water stood before her, almost as if it was held back by a glass wall. Kari reached her hand out to touch it, to see if there actually was a glass wall stopping it.

To her surprise, she touched the water, and her hand came back wet.

"what is this place?" she wondered aloud. She glanced back around the room. "is this some sort of joke?" she said.

An idea suddenly popped into her head, she glanced back at the door, and closed it. Then she opened it back up.

Instead of a wall of water, the door opened into some sort of study. Smirking, she walked in the room and closed the door behind her.

"now this room is creepy." She said, the room was surrounded by bookshelves, similar to the library. A huge old fashioned desk sat in the middle of the room, the chair next to it was so huge it looked like a throne.

Kari walked slowly over to the desk, running her hand over the surface of it. She wrinkled her nose at her dust-covered hand.

"this place could use a good cleaning." She said. She glanced around the room, looking for another door. But there wasn't one.

_Now what?_ She wondered, _there isn't another door, should I just go back the way I came?_ She thought.

A portrate on the other side of the room suddenly caught her attention, she walk towards it.

It was a boy, he looked about her age, with light brown hair and brown, almost gold eyes. Kari reached up and gently touched the picture.

_I wonder who he is…_ she thought, she glanced down at the bottom of the painting, where there was some writing.

It read: _Young master Jake, son of lord Richardson. Born, 1951, died, 1965._

"so he died 20 years ago…" Kari said, running her finger over the letters.

(I have no idea what year the legend of Zelda takes place, the point is that he died)

"I wonder how? He had to have been my age" she said. A jar suddenly rattled behind her, causing her to spin around.

"who's there?" she said, a shadow appeared from behind a statue, Kari breathed a sigh of relief. It struck her funny she'd been so scared.

The cat next to the statue meowed and began licking one of it's paws, staring at Kari with it's big golden eyes.

"here kitty kitty kitty." Kari said, walking over towards the cat, the cat turned and raced over to one of the bookshelves, it sat down in front of it a meowed.

"what is it kitty?" Kari asked, walking over to the bookcase. The cat meowed again. Kari ran her hand over the side of the bookcase.

"it's just a bookcase kitty." She said, reaching down to pet the cat. The cat purred and rubbed it's hand against Kari's hand, then started rubbing against her leg. Making Kari laugh.

"you're such a sweet kitty," she said, petting the cat. Her lack of attention around her caused her to accidentally bump into a vase next to the bookcase. The vase instantly slide to the side, and the bookcase suddenly moved to the side, revealing a dark passageway.

Kari stood there, her mouth hanging open. "wow." Was all she could say. She approched the passageway and peered inside.

"I wonder where this leads too." She said, "where do you think it goes kitty?" she glanced over her shoulder, but the cat was gone.

"that's weird." Kari said, she glanced around the room, looing for the cat. But it was gone.

Kari turned back to the passage way. _Well, here goes nothing…_ she thought as she headed into the tunnel.

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"_alright! Just be careful!" he said._

"_I will!" Kari said._

"_you'd better be." Willie said_.

-0-

Willie turned around and headed back through the door he and Kari had come through just minutes ago. It led him back into the kitchen, where he noticed a staircase on the right leading up to the second floor. Willie decided to go up, and headed up the steps to come out in a room on the second floor. There were a few pieces of furniture in the room, this must have been one of the many parlor rooms.

(parlor room, a room with fancy furniture for when company comes.)

Willie headed through the door on the side of the room. It led him to a hallway, one of the many in the huge house.

"this is just great, at this rate I'm never gonna find Kari and get out of here." Willie muttered to himself. He glanced down the hallway, there had to be about 10 doors. Willie sighed, this was going to be harder than he thought. He chose a door on the left, and headed inside.

Appearently he'd made the wrong choice. The door led him to a room that looked like another study. There was a huge desk in the room, along with a huge chair to match. Several other various items were around the room.

Willie turned to leave, but something caught his attention.

It was a painting. It was hanging on the wall opposite to the door. Willie walked over and stared up at the picture.

It was a little girl, no more than six or seven. She was wearing a cute little pink dress, and had a small doll in her arms.

_Hmm… I wonder if this has anything to do with the room Kari and I found earlier?_ Willie thought, he turned away from the picture and headed for the door. But not before he caught the name at the bottom of the picture

_Zoey… I wonder who she is?_ Willie thought. He turned around and headed back into the hallway where all the doors were.

_Hmm… Maybe this one?_ Willie thought, selecting a door on the right. He reached for the handle, but the _door suddenly started wiggling._

"what the-" Willie started, he reached for the handle again, but the door just wiggled. Suddenly the door started to fall. Willie's eye's widened and he quickly jumped out of the way.

The door fell with a loud SMACK right where Willie had been standing.

"What the hell is this place?!" he said, he glanced down at the door before heading for the next one. The minute he touched it, it also wiggled and immediately fell to the ground. Willie had to leap out of the way again.

Willie proceded to try and open every door, and all of them wiggled and fell, except the one at the end of the hallway.

"finally!" Willie said, he opened the door and stepped inside, glancing around the room before closing the door.

From the looks of it, he was in a small parlor. Beautiful furniture and decorations were all over the room, and another door was on the other side of the room.

Willie walked past all the fancy furniture and decorations and headed through the door.

"you've got to be kidding me!" he said.

He was back in the kitchen he and Kari had passed through only a little while ago.

"this place is crazy." Willie said.

"need some help?" a voice said. Willie turned around and saw girl standing behind him. She had cute blonde hair in pigtails and was wearing a pink dress. She smiled at Willie.

"mister, do you need help?" she repeated. Willie blinked. "where did you come from?" he asked.

"I'll help you if you help me." The girl said. Willie glanced around the room. "how did you get in here?"

"I'm looking for my big brother, and my doll, her name is Mary. My big brother's name is Jake. If you help me find him, I'll help you find your friend." She said.

"wait, how did you know I was here with someone?" Willie said, the girl just smiled sweetly at him and walked towards the door he had just came through.

"my name is Zoey." She said.

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_Wow…_ was all Kari could think as she stepped out of the tunnel. The room she had just stepped in appeared to be a bedroom. The wall paper was a very rich purple, the bed was beautifully carved and had silky curtains falling around the side. Over all, the room was gorgous.

"I feel like a princess in here…" she said, walking around the room. She stopped at a desk on one side of the room. A picture was sitting on the desk, a picture of a little girl and the boy from the picture she'd seen earlier.

Kari carefully picked the picture up and studied it before sticking it in her pocket.

Glancing around the room, she noticed a door on the other side of the room. She headed over, not knowing she would find something completely unexpected on the other side.

-0-

"wait a minute, did you just say Zoey?" Willie said, the girl nodded and opened the door, revealing a room completely different from the one Willie had just came from.

_Who is this girl?_ Willie wondered as he followed the girl into the room. The room was covered with light blue wall paper, there was nothing in the room but a strange looking glass bowl.

Zoey led Willie over to the bowl and stopped in front of it. "if you want to find your friend, look inside this." She nodded towards the bowl. Willie walked slowly over a peered into the bowl. At first, all Willie could see was his reflection, but then the water shifted and Kari slowly appeared. She was exiting from a tunnel, Willie saw her glance around the room then pick up a picture off a desk.

"where is she? I have to find her." Willie said, he glanced over at Zoey, but she was gone. Instead, Willie could see a door behind where she had stood.

"that's weird…" Willie said, he walked over to the door and opened it, entering the room on the other side.

Inside was a huge pool of water, but the water was crystal clear. The pool was only a decoration.

Willie glanced around the room, and to his surprise, saw a door underwater.

"this place is freaky." Willie said. He stepped over to the edge of the pool and glanced down, only to see his reflection in the water.

"Willie!" a voice shouted. It sounded just like Kari.

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"this is… different." Kari said, she stepped closer to the large portrate in the middle of the room. The room was completely bare, save for a giant picture on the far wall and a light shining on it. Kari walked up to the painting

A man and a woman were in the picture, as well as a boy and a little girl.

"it's that boy from the picture I saw earlier… Jake…" Kari said, she glanced at the little girl. She was only about 5 years old.

"that must be his little sister." She said, "and those must be his parents."

"that's right." A voice said, Kari gasped and wheeled around. A boy was standing behind her, a boy with light brown hair and golden-brown eyes. He grinned at Kari.

"hi." He said, Kari glanced around the room, way beyond confused.

"where did you come from?" she asked. The boy shrugged. "around." He said. "what do you want?" she asked.

"I'm looking for my little sister, have you seen her?" he asked. Kari pulled the picture out of her pocket and glanced at it. "is this her?" she asked, she walked over to the boy and showed him the picture of the him and the little girl. The boy glanced at it.

"yeah, that's her, have you seen her anywhere?" he asked. Kari shook her head, "no, I haven't, but my friend might have. He's around here somewhere, we got seperated earlier." She said.

"what does he look like? Maybe I've seen him." The boy said.

"he's tall, has blonde hair, and blue eyes." Kari said. The boy shook his head. "sorry, I haven't seen him." He said. Kari sighed, "that's ok, it's not your fault I can't find that idiot." She said. She glanced around the room.

"great, there's no other door, so now which way do I go?" she said. The boy nodded towards the painting. "there's a hidden door behind the painting, com' on, I'll show you." He said. he disappeared behind the painting. Kari glanced around the room one more time before following him.

Behing the painting was a small door, the boy opened the door and gestured for Kari to go in first, so she did, and the boy followed her in.

The room looked like a child's playroom, toys were all over the floor, and the walls and carpet were very light colors, mostly pink and blue.

"what a beautiful room." Kari said, the boy walked over and nodded. "yeah, this room was lots of fun." He said, he walked over and knelt by some of the toys, leaving Kari to stand there looking confused.

"let's keep going, we should find your friend, and my sister." The boy said, he stood up and headed for the bright door on the other side of the room.

Kari followed him, still confused as to who this boy was.

-0-

meanwhile, Piper, Kate and Jason were still waiting, it was Jason's turn to keep watch, Piper and Kate had both had their shifts already, so it was just him for a while.

"at least the sun will be coming up soon." He said, glancing up at the brightening sky.

-0-

"now where are we?" Kari asked, they were standing in a garden, the room was an indoor forest.

A bird flew past Kari and landed next to her. "oh wow." Kari said, smiling at the bird. The boy grinned, but then noticed something on the other side of the glass wall, (the room next to this one) a shadow, in the shape of a person. He grinned.

"this place is so beautiful!" Kari said, the room was filled with flowers, and the sound of birds cherping.

"don't you think this room is-" Kari turned around, but the boy was gone.

"hello?" Kari said, she glanced around. "where'd he go?" she noticed the shadow on the other side of the glass and walked slowly towards it.

"is that-" Kari started, she rushed through the door. "Willie!"

Willie looked up at the sound of his name. "Kari!" He stood up as Kari raced over and threw her arms around his chest. "I'm so glad you're ok!" she said.

"me too. I was worried that something had happened to you." Willie said, he returned her hug. After a minute Kari pulled away. "can we please get out of here now?" she said. Willie nodded.

"Kari, Willie." A voice said, Kari and Willie turned around and saw the strange boy and the little girl Zoey standing behind them.

"thank you Willie, you helped me find my brother." Zoey said, she smiled up at the boy. The boy grinned down at her and looked back up.

"thank you Kari, you helped me to find my little sister." He said, he grinned again. "and now, we'll help you get out." He said. He and his sister headed for the door.

"wait!" Kari said, "what's your name?" the boy stopped and looked at her.

"Jake." Kari's eyes widened, the boy from the painting! But how? Jake turned and continued walking with his sister. But instead of walking through the door, the two walked straight through the wall.

Kari's mouth dropped open. "how-" she started, glancing at Willie. Who was surprised as well.

"I don't know." He said. The floor suddenly began to rumble, and before they could do anything, the floor began to tilt, pushing Kari and Willie towards the pool of water.

"Willie!" Kari screamed as the two fell back into the pool. As soon as they fell, the floor lowered back to it's normal place.

Under the water, Kari and Willie both began to swim to the surface, but to their horror, something began pulling them down. (sort-of like a vaccum)

Kari and Willie were both pulled through a hole in the bottom of the pool. The water carried them through a large tunnel, sort-of like a wateslide.

Kari screamed as the tunnel suddenly dropped and ended right in front of the house, dumping them and a huge amount of water into the front lawn.

Jason jumped up in surprise, Kari and Willie had suddenly been dumped in front of the house. He quickly woke Piper and Kate.

"hey, wake up, Kari and Willie are back." Jason said, shaking Piper on the shoulder. Piper groaned and opened her eyes before standing up.

"is it morning yet?" she mumbled, then she saw Willie and Kari, who had stood up and were heading towards them. "wow, what happened to you two? What are you all wet?" Kari glared at her and shivered.

"don't ask." She said. Piper glanced up at the sky, then grinned. "hey Kari."

"yeah?" Kari said.

"you lost the bet." Piper said, grinning. Kari glanced up at the sky. "that totally counts!" she said, Piper shook her head. "sorry Kar, that doesn't count. Looks like you'll be going to the dance with Willie." She said, Kari groaned.

"let's just go home before our parents catch us." She said.

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**few! I hope that ending was satisfying enough for everyone out there. I had tons of fun coming up with all the rooms and everything for Kari and Willie, it was awesome.**

**Please read amd review! I don't have a title for the next chapter, so you'll just have to wait and see!**

**Anime Wildfire**


	14. Surprises come in twos

**hey everyone, sorry this is so late. It's been what, a month or two? Anyway, I've been having computer problems, the stupid thing shuts off everytime I start typing...**

**Anyway, thanks for all the reviews! I enjoy reading them and any comments you may have posted. And I promise you, I will be updateing my other stories soon. I've been working for a while on them and have the chapters almost finished.**

**Gotta go, see ya'll later!**

**Anime Wildfire**

Chapter 14, surprises come in two's.

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"Dad, where are we going?"

"You'll see, just keep your eyes closed."

"Dad, the last time you surprised me like this you led me into a swamp and then laughed your head off." Willie said, Link shrugged.

"I couldn't resist." He said. Willie would have rolled his eyes if they weren't covered.

"Are we almost there yet?" he asked, Link sighed, his son was so impatient.

"If you're patient, you'll find out in a minute." He said, so Willie shut his mouth and waited as Link led him. Finally, Link stopped Willie right in front of Epona's pasture.

"Alright, you ready?" Link said, Willie nodded. Link pulled Willie's blindfold off. "wella!"

Willie glanced around. "What is it?" he asked, Epona nickered at him from the other side of the fence.

Link grinned and whistled for Epona, she trotted over him. "How about that?" Link asked. Willie's mouth dropped open.

A beautiful filly was standing in the field, she was brown with a white stripe on her face, and had white feet, and a brown mane and tail.

"So what do you think?" Link asked, Willie grinned. "She's beautiful." He said. Link grinned.

"And she's all yours." He said, Willie hugged his dad. "Thanks dad." He said. Then he leaped the fence and proceeded to walk slowly towards the beautiful filly.

"Don't forget we're going out to eat tonight!" Link called, Willie didn't reply of course.

Link turned and walked away, leaving his son to try and catch his new horse.

-0-

A few hours later…

Willie opened the door to his house and was surprised to see Kendra, Kate and Kari standing there with Link. He stood there in surprise.

"Did I miss something?" he said, Link placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We're going out to eat with Kendra and the girls, you didn't forget did you?" he said, Willie's eyes widened.

"No, of course not, what makes you think I forgot?" he said. (Link sweat drop anime style)

"Just go get changed." He said. Willie nodded and turned to leave, but then stopped.

"Hey dad, can you check my back real fast? It's really sore." He said, Link nodded and Willie pulled his tunic up so you could see his back. Link grimaced and the girls gasped.

A huge bruise was on Willie's back in the shape of a horseshoe, the bruise was purple and red and a nasty looking green color.

"No wonder your back's sore, she kicked you pretty hard." Link said, Willie groaned. "yeah, I had a feeling it was gonna be bad." He said, he headed into his room and changed, returning seconds later, tucking in his tunic.

"Let's go." He said, so the five of them left.

------------------------------------------------------

"So Kari, what are you doing after school today?" Piper asked as she and Kari grabbed their lunches of the shelf and sat down to eat. Kari shrugged, "I was planning on doing homework, but anything you've got planned would be better." She said, Piper grinned.

"How about going to the stables with me? Tyler wants me to start training Superstar again." She said, (Superstar- Piper's horse, Tyler- Piper's trainer.)

Kari was about to answer when she noticed one of the boys sitting on the steps watching her. "Hey Piper, who's that boy?" she asked, nudging Piper in the ribs and pointing at the boy. Piper stopped eating and glanced over.

"Oh, that's Todd. You know, the big tough guy, he thinks he all that." Piper said, turning back to her sandwich. Kari shivered.

"He's staring at me." She said, Piper glanced up, "where?" she asked, Kari pointed at him.

"Just ignore him, he's a jerk anyway." She said, pulling an orange out of her lunch. Kari sighed and pulled her own sandwich out of her lunch.

Meanwhile, across the clearing, someone else noticed Todd watching Kari.

"Willie? Are paying attention?" a voice said, Willie snapped out of his trance and turned to Jason. "Sorry, I was just thinking." He said, Jason grinned.

"You were thinking about Kari, weren't you?" he said, Willie didn't reply, instead, his gaze turned back to Todd, who was watching Kari again.

"Actually, I was thinking about how I was going to kill Todd." He said, Jason looked slightly alarmed. "Whoa, wait a minute there Willie. You don't want to mess with Todd." He said, Willie looked at him.

"Jason, no one messes with my girl and gets away with it." He said, he stood up and walked over to where Todd and his buddies were eating.

-------------------------------------------------------------

"What's Willie doing?" Piper asked, Kari glanced up from her food and turned her attention to where Piper was looking.

Willie had gotten up and walked over to Todd, now Kari could see him saying something to Todd. Then Todd stood up and grinned, he looked amused. Willie grabbed him by his shirt and dragged him over behind the building next to the school where he could talk to him.

"What do you want?" Todd snapped as Willie pulled him behind the building. Willie pushed Todd against the wall and grabbed him by his shirt collar.

"Listen you idiot. Stay away from Kari. She's my girl, and I'll knock out your teeth if you don't leave her alone." Willie snarled, his face right up in Todd's. Todd looked a little nervous, but he quickly regained his courage.

"Hit a nerve have I? Well for your 411, I won't leave her alone. I happen to like her. She's a beautiful girl. So stay out of my way Willie boy." Todd taunted, Willie jerked Todd forward and slammed him back against the wall.

"You just entered unfamiliar territory." He snarled, "You wanna mess with Kari? You're gonna have to deal with me." Willie shoved Todd against the wall one more time before heading back to his lunch.

"Hey Willie boy! Meet me in this ally later, and we'll see how unfamiliar that territory is!" Todd called after him, Willie showed no sign that he heard, but Todd knew he did. He smirked before heading back to his lunch.

-0-

"That was weird." Piper said as Willie and Todd returned from the ally, both stomped back to their lunches. Piper shrugged and returned to her food, but Kari couldn't shake away her sinking feeling that something bad was going to happen.

--------------------------------------------------

"That was the stupidest lesson I've ever listened too." Jason said as he and Willie left class, Willie just grinned in agreement.

"Hey Willie, I've got to go, my dad needs my help." He said, Willie nodded. "I'll see ya tomorrow Jason." He said, Jason nodded at him before he took off towards home. Willie sighed and started heading for home; at least, he was heading for home, until he saw Todd standing by the ally waiting for him.

"Hey Willie boy! Ready to live up to your threat?" he said, Willie snarled and headed into the ally after Todd. He could tell this was going to be messy.

-0-

"Kari? You never answered my question this morning." Piper said as she and Kari left class. Kari smiled at her, "of course I'll go with you. Meet you there at 5?" she said, Piper nodded, then she started running down the hallway, waving to Kari as she went.

"I'll see you later Kari!" she said before she disappeared. Kari waved back and started down the steps of the school. Kate was staying late to help one of the teachers, so it was just Kari walking home today.

As Kari walked by the ally next to the school, she heard a voice in the ally.

"-Idiot, messing with me…" curious, she peered into the ally, only to see a boy leaning against the wall, cursing under his breath. He looked really familiar.

"Are you ok?" Kari said, the boy jumped at the sound of her voice, and Kari gasped at who it was.

It was Willie.

"Oh Willie! Are you ok?" Kari asked, she ran over to him. "I'm fine." Willie said, he looked away, trying to hide his injuries.

"Willie, what happened?" Kari asked, turning his face towards her so she could see his injuries. She gasped.

Willie's nose was bleeding, and he had a large cut on his mouth. A large bruise was on his cheek, right underneath his right eye.

"Dear goddesses, what happened? Did someone attack you?" she asked, "No!" Willie snapped, he pulled away from her and walked over to where his books were and began picking them up.

"Nothing happened, I'm fine." He said, wiping the blood away from his nose. Kari grabbed his hand and looked him straight in the eye.

"You are not ok. I may not know what happened, but that's not going to stop me from helping you!" she said, Willie just stared at her. Kari started pulling him back towards the school, Kate would still be there, so she made Willie sit by the door and went inside to get a medical kit. When she returned, Willie was still sitting on the steps.

"So," Kari said, pulling a bandage out of the medical kit. "What exactly were you fighting about anyway? And how did you get so beat up?" she asked, sitting next to Willie.

"That idiot cheated. He brought some of his buddies with him instead of facing me one-on-one. Coward." Willie said,

"So he and his goons jumped you and you still beat them?" she said, turning his face towards hers to place a bandage on his cheek.

"Yeah, that's it." Willie said, Kari nodded and pushed his sleeves up onto his shoulder to place a bandage on a cut. They sat in silence for a moment, until Kari broke the silence.

"So, are you going to tell me what this fight was all about?" she asked, pulling his tunic up to check his back for injuries.

"You." Willie said, Kari froze, she glanced at him. "What?" she said,

"You." Willie repeated. Kari took a deep breath, "what do you mean me?" she asked.

"I mean you, the fight was over you. Those idiots were planning something, I'm sure of it." Willie said.

"I saw them staring at me during lunch," Kari said, she was starting to get a little freaked out.

"I know, I noticed that too." Willie said, "so I told that idiot Timmy or Tippy or what ever his name was to leave you alone, and the idiot decided to try and pick a fight with me…" he said.

"Thank you." Kari said, "That was nice of you. Sticking up for me I mean." She said.

"You're welcome." Willie said, his heart was pounding; he was actually talking to Kari without her insulting him.

"So… how are you?" he said, Kari glanced over at him, looking confused. "Ok I guess." She said. Willie nodded.

"That's good." he said, he hissed as Kari wrapped up his bleeding shoulder.

"Sorry, I didn't know it was so sore." Kari said, Willie shrugged. "It's ok. It's not your fault." He said. Kari sighed and glanced down at her feet.

"Well if you think about it, it kinda is." She said, Willie twisted around to glance at her. "Why would you even say that? You know that's not true." He said.

"Yes it is." Kari said, "you got hurt trying to protect me. That makes it my fault." She said. Willie suddenly stood up, not even bothering to wince over his sore shoulder. "Don't you dare think even for a minute this is your fault." He said.

"I choose to fight him, it was my choice. Mine." He said, "Besides, no one messes with my girl and gets away with it." Kari rolled her eyes and stood up.

"You feeling better? Good, I gotta get home, my mom's probably wondering where I am." She said. She started walking. Willie jogged after her.

"I'll walk home with you, my dad's probably looking for me and I don't think it's smart for you to walk home alone." He said, Kari shrugged and for once, didn't smart back.

"Suit yourself." She said, she continued walking. As they walked past the alley, Willie grabbed his green backpack, which was lying against one of the alley walls. Todd and his friends were still knocked out against the wall. Willie smirked.

"I don't think Todd's gonna be forgetting this anytime soon." He said, Kari rolled her eyes and continued walking, trying hard not to smile.

----------------------------------------------------------

Tension was high between Willie and Todd the next day. Kari was surprised he had even come to school, his injuries were worse than Willie's.

He stomped around most of the day, pushing past people and snarling at Willie whenever the two were close, although they ignored each other as much as possible. The whole school wondered what had happened, but they weren't smart enough to put two and two together.

"You'd think this school was smart enough to put two and two together." Kari said, shaking her head as she and Piper walked to class.

0-0

"So, are you finally going to tell me what happened?" Jason asked as he and Willie sat down for their next class. Willie nodded.

"After school, that idiot Todd challenged me to fight. But when I got there, I found out he had brought all his little buddies with him instead of fighting me one-on-one." Willie said.

"What happened?" Jason asked.

"I kicked all their butts." He said, Jason grinned and punched him lightly in the arm. "That's the Willie I know." He said. Willie frowned.

"Yet you look like something's bothering you. Com on, spill it." Jason said, Willie winced and leaned towards him.

"It's just, Kari caught me in the alley after I knocked em' all out." He said, Jason grimaced.

"Did she chew you out?" he asked, Willie shook his head.

"Surprisingly, no. She scolded me and bandaged all my cuts." Willie said, Jason nudged his arm.

"Finally getting Kari to like you huh?" he teased, Willie just grinned and turned towards the front as the teacher walked in.

-----------------------------------------------------

"I'm home!" Kari called as she walked in the door. Her mother came in front the kitchen and smiled at her.

"Welcome home honey, how was school today?" she asked, Kari followed her mother into the kitchen.

"Except for the fact that Willie and Todd were glaring at each other all day, it was good." Kari said, helping her mother set the table for dinner.

"Hey mom!" Kate's voice said from the other room, "call me when it's time for dinner!" Footsteps going up the stairs indicated Kate had gone up to her room.

"What's for dinner?" Kari asked.

"Corn, stew, and biscuits." Kendra said, there was a knock on the door. Kendra went to get it. It was a man delivering a letter.

"It's from Kyra…" Kendra said, slitting open the envelope as she headed back into the kitchen.

"What's that mom?" Kari asked, noticing the letter her mother was holding.

"It's from my older sister, Kyra." Kendra said, she began reading the letter. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"What is it mom?" Kari asked.

"Your aunt Kyra and cousin Katrina are coming for a visit in a few weeks." She said, Kari grimaced. She and Katrina had never really gotten along.

"When are they coming?" she asked, her tone clearly saying she'd rather they not come.

"In a few weeks. I'm expecting you two to be on your best behavior." Kendra said, the warning evident in her voice.

"Alright alright." Kari said. She sighed; this was not going to be fun.

------------------------------------------------------------

**I know I know, it's a bit shorter than usual. I have the next chapter almost finished, I've just been having a bit of a writers block.**

**Review please!**

**Random quote of the moment: MUSHROOMS!!! No wait... MUFFINS!!! NO WAIT!!! MUSHROOOOOOOOOMMMSS!!!!!!!**

**Yeah... anway, see you next chapter!**

**Anime Wildfire**


	15. The visit begins and ends?

**Few, sorry about the long wait. I had problems with my computer and getting this chapter up and stuff. but don';t worry, I have the next few chapters already typed out. I just have to go a proof read them and then I can post them. Yeah! I've also been working on a few of my other stories, so over all. I'm really sorry about the wait.**

**He he, the end of this chapter was my favorite, I think you'll like it too. Please review!**

**Anime Wildfire**

--------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 15, the visit begins... and ends?

"Katrina!" Kendra ran forward and hugged her niece. "Aunt Kendra!" Katrina said, behind her, Kendra's sister Kara (means lady, how fitting) stepped out of the carriage.

"Kyra!" Kendra said, she hugged her sister. "Kendra! So good to see you sister." She said, Kendra led Katrina and Kyra into the house.

"Kate! Kari! Say hello to your Aunt Kyra and cousin Katrina! They're here for a visit!" Kendra said, both Kate and Kari hugged their cousin and Aunt.

"My, you two are so beautiful. And your house! It looks wonderful!" Kyra said, walking around the room. She stopped at the window.

"My," she said, she turned to her sister. "Is that your neighbor? Link was his name?" she said, Kendra came and looked out the window, where Link and Willie were moving some crates.

"Yes, that's Link and his son Willie. Do you remember Willie?" she asked, Kyra gasped.

"That's Willie!? He's so handsome!"

"Where? Where?" Katrina asked, she went over to the window next to her mother and gasped, just like her.

"He's a hottie!" she said, Kari rolled her eyes. Katrina continued to gasp.

"Mother, can you believe how handsome he is?" she said, her mother shook her head. "He certainly is better looking then any of the boys around our house!" Kyra said. Kari rolled her eyes again.

"He may be cute, but he has a terrible personality." She said, Katrina and Kyra looked at her.

"You know him?" Katrina asked, Kari opened her mouth, but Kate interrupted her.

"Oh don't listen to her! She's hated him ever since we were little." Kate said, "He's actually really very sweet!"

"Kyra, girls, let's get lunch ready. We're going to be having company." Kendra called from the other room.

"What company?" Kari asked as she and the others walked into the kitchen, Kendra turned to face her.

"Didn't I tell you? Willie's coming over. I asked Link to build a new cabinet for the dining room, but Link can't do it, he's got some other work to do. So he's sending Willie to do it instead." She said, ignoring the excited squeals of Katrina and her mother.

"Katrina! This is your chance to make a good impression!" Kyra said, Katrina nodded and raced up the steps to get ready.

"He should be here in five minutes! Don't be late for lunch!" Kendra called after her, Kate raced up after Katrina, eager to help her.

Kyra went to check and see if all their luggage was there. Kari decided to stay in the kitchen and help her mother.

"I don't get it mom. What do they see in him?" Kari said, taking some plates from the cabinet. Kendra smiled at her daughter.

"He's handsome, and he's sweet. Some girls like that in a guy, I should know. That's what Kyra liked. She didn't care how smart the guy was as long as he had a decent body and good looks. But me, I preferred brains over brawn." Kendra said.

"You're like that too, you like boys that are smart and don't use their looks to get what they want." Kendra continued.

"Exactly!" Kari said, "I don't want a guy that tries to impress me with his looks, I want a guy who has a good heart." She said, "I could care less about what he looks like."

Kendra glanced at her with a look that said 'yeah, right.' And Kari couldn't help but giggle.

"Ok, so I wouldn't mind a guy with good looks AND a good heart… but still, I don't see why they like Willie." She said.

Kendra wanted so badly to say 'Kari? Haven't you noticed by now? He's in love with you…' but she didn't. That was something Kari would have to learn on her own.

"Willie does have a good heart Kari, most people are just not smart enough to see it, but I see it, and Link sees it too. I think you see it as well, you just don't want to see it because you'd rather hate him." Kendra said, turning back to the food. Kari opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again. She knew her mother was right, Willie DID have a good heart, she just didn't want to see it.

Someone knocked at the door, and Kari knew it was Willie. "I'll get it." She said, since no one else seemed to answering it. Kendra nodded at Kari and turned back to the food.

As Kari walked over to the door, she could hear footsteps upstairs as her Aunt and sister helped Katrina freshen up.

Kari opened the door to see Willie standing there, of course, she already knew this.

Kari was about to say something, but Kendra walked up behind her. "Oh Willie, you're here. Come on it, my sister Kyra and her daughter Katrina are visiting. They're upstairs getting ready for lunch."

Willie walked in the house, he was carrying a bag with tools. "You can leave those here for now Willie, we're eating lunch." Kendra said, Willie shook his head.

"That's ok Miss Kendra, I don't want to intrude." He said, Kendra smiled.

"Willie, you know your not intruding. And stop being so formal. Now come on in and eat." Willie nodded gratefully and sat the tools and his sword on the floor before following Kendra and Kari into the kitchen.

Kendra handed Kari some of the food to set on the table. She gestured for Willie to sit down, she even had little name places, with little quotes in them. Willie sat down and picked up his card to read the quote. His had two in it, and Willie guessed they were picked by Kendra.

'anything worth doing is worth doing right' was Willie's first one, and 'good things happen to those who wait' was the second one. Willie grinned at set the card back down just as Katrina, Kyra and Kate entered the room.

As soon as they came in, Willie stood up. He had been taught by his father to respect woman and to stand up when they entered the room.

(if your wondering where Link learned all this, Zelda taught him while they were married.)

Katrina entered very gracefully, her eyes on Willie._ Goddesses, he's even more handsome close up!_ She thought. She found her place at the table. (which was on Willie's right.) and sat down.

The others all followed her example and took a seat. Kari realized that her mother had seated her next to Willie. She sat down and picked up her card, reading the quote inside.

'look around you, your true love might be right before your eyes.' She rolled her eyes and sat her card down.

(note, this isn't a formal lunch or anything, but the cards idea seemed cute)

"Don't forget to take off your gloves Willie!" Kendra said. Willie blushed.

"Whoops, sorry Kendra." He said, pulling his gloves off and setting them by his feet. Katrina noticed a large blister on his left hand.

"Oh Willie! What happened?" she asked, taking his hand in her own to look at the blister. (hmpf, little kiss-up)

Willie glanced at his hand,

"Oh, I was training Princess." He said, Katrina looked confused. "Who's Princess?" she asked.

"She's my horse." Willie said, Kari suddenly spoke up. "How is Princess doing?" she asked, everyone looked at her in surprise. "What? I like Princess, she such a sweet horse. I usually say hi to her when I'm down there."

Willie grinned, "She's doing great. Still hates the saddle though, but I've been working with her." Kari turned her attention back to her food. "I'm glad she's doing ok."

"You have a horse? I love horses!" Katrina said, (which is a half-lie) "What's she look like?" she asked.

"Well, she's brown with a white stripe on her face, and her feet are white, and her mane and tail are brown." Willie said.

"Will you show her to me some time?" Katrina asked. "I can't, she's a little skittish. It's a bit dangerous to get close to her." Willie said, Katrina's face fell.

"Well then could I watch you train her from a distance sometime?" she asked, Willie nodded. "Sure, if you want to. I usually train her in the evening after me and my dad are done practicing." He said.

"What do you practice?" she asked, "Sword fighting, my dad's been training me ever since I was five." He said.

"Wow! That's amazing!" Katrina said. Kendra spoke up. "Why don't you let Willie eat now Kendra? I'm sure he's hungry." She said. Katrina blushed and turned back to her food.

Willie was the first one done, but he politely waited until everyone else was finished. Kendra was done next, so she and Willie talked while they waited.

"So, what were you and your dad doing earlier with the crates?" she asked.

"One of the men down the street is opening a shop, and he asked if we could store some of his stuff for a while." Willie said, Kendra nodded.

Soon the other four were done with their meal. Willie excused himself and started work on the cabinet.

He was working on it in the backyard, as not to get Kendra's house dirty.

Katrina sat by the window, watching him work. She turned around as Kari entered the room with a bucket of water. Her mother figured Willie would be thirsty after working in the hot sun.

"My dear cousin, how are you today?" Katrina asked with a fake sweetness in her voice. Kari glared at her. She and Katrina had never really gotten along well.

"Why would you care about my well-being?" she asked, opening the door. Katrina just smiled her fake smile. "Oh I don't." she said, she leaned closer, all signs of sweetness gone.

"Just stay away from Willie, he's mine." She said, Kari rolled her eyes.

"You can have him, I don't know why you'd want him anyway." She said, she shook her head and went out the door, leaving Katrina to glare after her.

-0-

by the time the sun was going down, Willie was halfway finished with the cabinet. He promised Kendra he'd come back the next morning to finish the cabinet and paint it. Much to Katrina's happiness.

Willie was true to his word. He returned the next morning, eating breakfast with them before heading out in the hot morning sun to finish the job.

A few hours later…

Willie paused and glanced up at the sun. He'd been outside in the sun for hours, and he was starting to get tired and hungry.

Peeling off his sweaty tunic, Willie tossed it to the side and picked up one of his tools. He was almost done now, he just had to finish one of the sides and paint it, then he'd be done.

The door suddenly opened and Kari stepped out carrying a bucket of water, a scowl on her face as Katrina followed her out the door. Willie resisted the urge to laugh, Kari must really hate Katrina.

"Here." Kari said, setting the bucket of water down next to him. "My mother was afraid you'd be thirsty."

Willie nodded his thanks and picked up the bucket, taking a long drink before pouring half of what was left over his head.

Kari squealed and jumped to the side to avoid getting wet, Katrina was glaring at her from behind before stepping around her to stand next to Willie. She placed her hand on his arm and began batting her eyelashes.

"Willie… how's the cabinet coming along, I was watching you earlier, and I think it's defiantly coming along." She said, her voice all sweet and delicate. Willie shifted uncomfortably and scooted away from Katrina. He turned to Kari, his body still soaking wet.

"Hey Kari, wanna hug?" he said, Kari's eyes widened and she backed away slowly.

"Oh no you don't. Get away from me!" She said, backing away from Willie. He advanced towards her.

Kari took off running, and Willie took off after her, eventually catching her and hugging her, getting her soaked as well. Which eventually resulted in Kari shrieking, smacking Willie then stomping off into the house to change into some dry clothes.

Katrina stood there the entire time, her eyes filled with jealousy.

----------------------------------------------------

"You're kidding me." Kari said, she was standing in the kitchen, her book bag on her shoulder.

"No Kari, I'm not kidding. Katrina WILL be going to school with you and Kate today." Kendra said, the look in her eyes flashed a warning to Kari. She sighed.

"Fine, let's go Kate, you two Katrina." Kari said, she headed for the door, followed by her sister and cousin.

-00000000000000000000000-

"I am not!"

"You know Kari, you're beautiful when you're mad." Kari groaned and stomped away from a grinning Willie. Her sister jogging after her. Katrina decided to stay with Willie. What a surprise.

Kari could see Piper standing by the door, so she headed that way. "Hey Kari." Piper said.

"Hi Piper." Kari snapped, Piper shook her head. "Willie called you his girl again, didn't he?"

Kari didn't reply, which confirmed what Piper had said. Piper sighed.

"Maybe you should consider actually going out with the guy?" Piper suggested. Kari snorted.

"The day I go out with Willie is the day moblins fly." Kari said, she stomped into class, a grinning Piper right behind her. Kate dragged Katrina away from Willie and led her into the classroom.

She annoyingly noticed that Willie had taken the seat behind Kari, giving Katrina no choice but to sit behind Kate.

(Kate's behind Jason, and Jason is next to Willie)

Kari felt something hit the back of her head, followed by the sound of two guys laughing softly. She glanced at Piper, who gave her a look that said,

'Just ignore them' Kari tried, but when she felt another piece of paper hit the back of her head, she snapped. She twisted around in her seat and glared at Willie.

"Stop it!" she hissed quietly, Willie shook his head.

"No way." He said.

"Willie! Kari! Detention, after school." The teacher said. Willie grinned; he didn't mind having to stay for detention if he was with Kari. Kari however, wasn't so thrilled. She groaned and laid her head on her desk.

Katrina was fuming. She had done that on purpose! She had purposely gotten detention so she could spend time with Willie.

_You wait Kari, there's no way I'm going to let you steal Willie from me._

-0-

"Kari."

"……"

"Kari?"

"……?!"

"Kari!"

"What!"

Why do you keep trying to get my attention?"

Kari groaned and turned her back on Willie. "Leave me alone!" She snapped. "I don't want anything to do with you. So leave me alone!!"

"And why would I do that?"

"…"

"So we're back to you ignoring me huh?"

"…"

"Fine, then I'll just ignore you."

"…."

"…."

"…"

"…"

_Thank the goddesses he finally shut up._

-0-

"Mom! I'm home!" Kari said as she walked through the door. The teacher had held the two of them for an hour and a half before letting them go. And Kari was sure her mother was about her.

"Welcome home Kari! What took you so long to get home?" Kendra asked, poking her out from the kitchen.

"That jerk Willie decided to get us both landed in detention. The teacher kept us there for more than an hour." Kari said, following her mother into the kitchen.

Katrina was sitting at the table, reading a magazine. Kari could tell by the way she was sitting so stiffly that she was mad about something.

"Hey mom-" she started but was interrupted by a knock at the door. Kendra glanced at Kari and Katrina before heading to the door. Katrina and Kari glared at each other and followed her.

Kendra opened the door and found Willie standing there, looking a bit nervous.

"Hello Willie. Can I help you with something?" she asked.

"Actually yeah I'm-" he was interrupted by Kari and Katrina entering the room. Standing opposite of each other. He couldn't help but notice how they looked like opposites. Kari with a scowl on her face and Katrina with a smile.

"Willie!" she said, batting her eyelashes. "Did you come to see me?" Willie blinked and glanced at Kari.

"Um, not really." He said, Katrina huffed and turned her back away. Kari coughed to hide her snort of laughter.

"Actually, I came to see Kari." He said, Kari and Katrina both looked surprised. Willie turned to Kari.

"Listen, I'm sorry about getting you stuck in detention today." He said, Kari was speechless.

"T-That's ok." She said, finally finding her tongue. Willie grinned. Behind Willie, Kendra was making hugging motions and pointing to Willie. Kari was fiercely shaking her head. Willie was staring at Kari with a question mark over his head. Kari finally gave in a shot a glare at her mother.

"Fine!" she snapped. She turned to Willie.

"Thanks for apologizing, I guess." She said, she leaned over (more like up) wrapped her arms around Willie's neck, hugging him. He was shocked for a minute, but quickly reacted, hugging her back. Katrina was fuming. She sniffed and stomped off to the kitchen. Kendra was quite the opposite, she was practically beaming. Finally Kari pulled back, and Willie left. Leaving Kari and Kendra to return to the kitchen, where Katrina was practically buried in her magazine.

"I can't believe you made me hug him." Kari said, pouting.

"But you know you liked it." Kendra said in a teasing voice. Kari turned a bit pink a looked away. An action that did not go unnoticed by Katrina.

"We're baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!" Kate and Kyra walked in the kitchen, their arms covered in shopping bags.

"Did we miss anything?" Kate asked, setting down the bags on her arms.

"Only that Kari had to hug Willie!" Kendra teased. Kari's cheeks turned a light pink.

"oooooooooh!" Kate said. She, Kyra and Kendra continued to tease Kari, not noticing Katrina getting madder and madder. Finally, she exploded.

"You just couldn't take it, could you?!" she suddenly shouted, everyone stopped and stared at her.

"What are you talking about?" Kari asked.

"You just couldn't lay off him?! You know I like Willie!" Katrina screamed, Kari looked confused.

"Katrina, I've never tried to take him from you. I've never wanted him at all!" she said, Katrina snorted.

"Oh, yeah, right. Like getting detention on purpose so you could be with him or hugging him isn't trying to steal him." She snapped. Kari's face turned as red as a tomato.

"You know what Katrina. I'm sick of you always treating me like dirt and acting like you're the queen bee!" Kari shouted.

"I've never like Willie that way, and I never will! So stop goin' around and acting like I'm stealing him from you when I don't even want him to begin with!" Katrina narrowed her eyes, and before Kari could react, Katrina slapped her.

Kari's eyes widened as she felt her stinging cheek. She looked over at Katrina.

"Big mistake." She said. Clenching her fist, she stepped forward and punched Katrina as hard as she could. A little gasp came from the three other women in the kitchen as they rushed over to separate the fighting cousins.

After a few minutes, they managed to get the two girls in separate rooms. Katrina was ok, but had one heck of a bloody nose. Kari was fine too, just as mad as hell.

It was no wonder Kyra and Katrina decided to leave three days later.

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**He he! Now you see why I like the ending so much. Please leave a review.**

**By the way, Harry Potter 5 was a great movie! I saw it the day after it came out. Except for a lack of detail, it was great!**

**Read and review**

**Anime Wildfire**


	16. Running from the past

**I know I know! It's been forever and a day since I updated. But I'm back! I've had a bunch of stuff going on. First my computer was broken and had to be taken apart for the _entire bloody summer!_ Then I finally got it back and couldn't get any internet connection. Ugh, so eventually I found a way to get it on another computer to update, but by this time school had started, and you know what? Chemestry sucks. Very badly. But know I"ll be able to update a bit more. Sorry about the long wait everyone!**

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16-year-old Willie stepped outside, closing the door quietly behind him. His books and lunch under one arm as he headed off to school.

Across the street, he could see his neighbor Kendra saying goodbye to her two daughters Kari and Kate as they left for school.

As Willie walked by, Kendra waved to him, and he waved back. Kendra and his father were good friends, often helping each other when they needed it.

Kendra usually had Kari and Kate walk with Willie, a few months ago, a young girl had been murdered on her way to school, and ever since Kendra had sent Kari and Kate to school with Willie.

Willie didn't mind, it gave him a chance to be with Kari, the girl he'd been in love with since before he even liked girls. Kendra said something to the girls, and they jogged over to catch up with Willie.

"Hey Kate, hey Kari." Willie greeted them, Kate smiled and latched onto Willie's arm; Kari rolled her eyes and jogged ahead of them. Kari hated Willie; he'd teased her ever since they were young kids.

Willie's eyes watched Kari as she walked ahead of them, he barely even noticed Kate. Kate pretended to like Willie to try and make Kari jealous, but so far it wasn't going so well.

The bell rang just as they reached to school; Willie, Kate and Kari quickly put the stuff away and slid into their seats. The door snapped open as their teacher walked in.

"Take out your books everyone." The teacher snapped, she sat at her desk while the students pulled their books out. Most of the students in this class were in high school, but a few were in junior high.

Willie grinned at his best friend, Jason, who sat directly opposite of him. Jason had short brown hair and mischievous green eyes. He was very good-looking, but not as much as Willie.

Jason grinned back at him and turned around to talk to the girl behind him, which just so happened to be Kari's best friend Piper. Piper had long brown hair and bright brown eyes, she may look sweet, but she has a terrible temper.

Willie also turned around to face the girl behind him, which just so happened to be Kari. Kari glared at him, and he grinned at her, almost in a trouble-like way.

"What do you want?" she hissed, one eye on the teacher. Willie shrugged.

"Nothing, I'm just sitting here." He said, Kari narrowed her eyes at him. "Ha ha very funny,"

Willie shrugged again and turned back around, concentrating as the teacher starting writing down problems on the board. Kari sighed; today was going to be a long day.

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"Willie! Wait up!" Kate called, she grabbed Kari by the arm and dragged her over to Willie. Willie stopped and waited for the two girls to catch up, Kari waved goodbye to Piper.

As soon as Kari and Kate caught up with him, Willie started walking again.

"Kate?! Why'd you drag me away? I was talking to Piper!" Kari snapped, she crossed her arms. Kate shrugged apologetically.

"Sorry, but Willie was leaving, and mom says we have to walk home with him, ever since that girl… well, you know." Kate said, Kari softened.

"Yeah, I see your point, sorry I snapped at you. I was just grumpy cause Piper's going on vacation for a week or two and I haven't didn't get a chance to talk to her today." She said. Kate smiled.

"Apology accepted." She said. She turned to Willie. "So Willie how was your day?" she said in a fake dreamy voice, Kari slapped her forehead.

"It was fine." Willie said with a shrug, Kari smacked her forehead again. _He's completely oblivious._ She thought.

But Kate wasn't going to give up that easily. "So Willie, what are you planning to do today?" she asked, walking next to him. She glanced at Kari to see if she was looking.

"Not much really, I was thinking about taking princess for a ride." Willie said, glancing at Kate. Kate smiled at him. She was at least a foot shorter than him.

"We had an interesting lesson at school today didn't we? I though it was quite entreating…" Kate started.

While her sister blabbed on, Kari glanced around her, her gaze somehow resting on the sword strapped to Willie's back by a buckle that strapped around his chest. Somehow, that sword looked strangely familiar… then it hit her. The master sword! Kari had read about the legendary sword, and how the hero of time was the only one who could wield the legendary blade. How is it that Willie's sword looked exactly like the master sword? Sure, lots of swords were made to look like the legendary blade, but there was something different about this one… it looked real, all the other copies looked slightly different.

"Hey Willie, where'd you get that sword?" Kari asked, completely forgetting that she hated him. Willie glanced back at her, a look of surprise on his face.

"My father gave it to me, he made it to look exactly like the master sword. He has a sword that looks like the master sword too." He said. He pulled the sword from the sheath and showed it to Kate and Kari. (What a coincidence)

"My father gave me this sword two years ago, I've been sword fighting ever since I was little. My dad told me he and Navi went on all kinds of adventures, they traveled all over Hyrule. My dad was also the one to teach me how to swordfight, he gained a lot of experience from his travels." Willie said, he sheathed the sword and continued walking. Seconds later, Kate started talking again.

"So Willie, what'd you think about the math problems-" smack! Willie had stopped suddenly, Causing Kate and Kari to crash into him.

"Hey Willie! What's the big dea-" Kari started, but stopped at the look on Willie's face. He was staring straight ahead, his face full of shock. Kari followed his gaze, and noticed several of Hyrule castle's soldiers standing at his house.

"Willie, what are they doing at your house?" Kari asked. Kate bit her lip.

"Willie! Kate! Kari! Over here!" A voice said, all three looked to the right and saw Link and Kendra standing in the doorway of Kendra's house.

Kendra waved to them, and the three snuck over, being careful not to be seen by the guards.

"Inside quick." Kendra said, ushering them inside and closing the door behind them.

"Dad, what's going on?" Willie asked once they were inside and the door was firmly closed behind them.

"I don't know." Link said, "luckily I was over here at the time, Kendra needed me to fix her table. And while I was fixing it they showed up and started banging on the door."

"What do they want with us anyway?" Willie asked, Link bit his lip. "I'll tell you later, now is not the time. We have to wait until they leave." Link walked over and peeked out the window, the guards were still there, banging on the door and looking impatient.

"Stay here as long as you need to." Kendra said with a nod. She didn't know what was going on, but she was beginning to comprehend the situation.

"Thank you." Link said, he turned to Willie. "Why don't you get some rest? You look tired." he suggested. Willie was about to protest, but realized that his father was right, he was tired. Kendra offered him Kari's room, but Willie just decided to use the couch instead.

Link sat by the window, watching the guards. Time ticked by, Kari and Kate played a game to keep themselves occupied while Kendra made dinner. Eventually Kate and Kari quit playing and sat around talking for a while, and Kari found herself watching Willie while her sister went to see how their mother was doing with dinner.

A few minutes later, Willie woke up, not exactly refreshed from his little nap, but he wasn't feeling so tired.

"Mama says dinner's almost ready." Kate said, walking in the room. Link nodded to her and she walked over to the window and peered out of it.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, "they're leaving! The guards are leaving!" Link jumped up and raced over to the window. Kate was right, the guards WERE leaving.

"We need to get home." Link said, he walked over to Willie and helped him up.

"Come on Willie, we've got to hurry." He said, Willie nodded and grabbed his books before following his father, waving to Kari and Kate before closing the door behind him.

Kari and Kate stared after them for a minute, finally Kate said. "they left without eating dinner." Kari rolled her eyes before joining her mother in the kitchen.

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"Dad, what are you doing?" Willie asked, Link was running around the room grabbing stuff and stuffing it in bags.

"We have to leave Willie. We have to move out." He said, Willie looked confused.

"Why?" he asked, Link stopped running around and looked at him.

"Willie, I can't explain now, but the one thing I can tell you is that those soldiers weren't after me. They were after you." Willie was shocked.

"Why were they after me?" he asked. Link started running around the room again. "Like I said, I can't explain now." He said. "Just start packing all the thing's you'll need, only the things you'll really need." Willie nodded.

"Alright dad, I'll do it." He said, Link grinned. "Get going son."

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Several hours later, Link and Willie were ready to go.

Willie glanced outside, it was very dark, and you could barely see anything. Willie soon saw four shapes in the shadows, and he rushed outside.

Link walked over to him, leading three horses. One was Epona, Link's horse. The middle horse was Princess, Willie's horse. And the third one was a horse from the stables. Link must have bought it.

"Come one Willie, just tie your stuff onto princess." Link said, he reached into one of the bags and pulled out a brown cloak. He handed it to Willie.

"For disguise." He said, Willie nodded and slipped it over his shoulders, clipping the silver clasp below his neck. He pulled to cloak over his head and turned to Link.

"I'm ready." He said, Link nodded and prepared to mount Epona. Suddenly, the door to Kendra's house and three cloaked figures stepped out.

It was Kendra, Kari and Kate.

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"Kendra… what are you doing here?" Link asked as the three walked over to them.

"We want to go with you." Kendra said, "Please, let us come with you." Link glanced at Willie, and he nodded. Link sighed.

"Alright, but we're gonna have to double up. Kendra, you can ride on Reina. He's the brown one next to Kate. Kate, you can ride with your mother on Reina, and Kari, you can ride on Princess with Willie." He said, he handed Reina's reins to Kendra. Kendra easily mounted up and help Kate swing up behind her.

Link mounted Epona and Willie mounted Princess, he held his hand out for Kari.

"Do you want to sit in the front or the back?" he asked her. Kari bit her lip.

"Well… I've never ridden before." She said, Willie nodded. "You can sit in the front then, there's a saddle horn you can hold onto." He said, Kari nodded and took Willie's hand. Willie pulled her up in front of him.

"Ready?" he asked her, she nodded. Willie nodded to Link. Link nodded back and turned Epona towards the main gate.

"Remember, we have to be real quiet now." Link said, he urges Epona into a walk; Kendra and Willie did the same with Princess and Reina.

Hyrule field was still dark, but the sun was beginning to rise in the distance, and the field was covered in fog.

"Everyone stay close. We don't want to get separated in this fog." Link said,

"What do we do if we get separated?" Kari asked.

"You'll be ok if you're with me or Willie. We both know this field like the back of our hands." Link replied.

"Hey you! Stop! By order of the king of Hyrule! STOP!!!" Everyone glanced behind and saw several soldiers on horses at the gate.

"RUN!!" Link shouted, he stuck his heels into Epona's side and she took off. Kendra did the same.

"Hold on!" Willie shouted. He kicked Princess's side and flicked the reins. She took off like a bullet. The soldiers quickly galloped after them, half of them going after Willie and Kari, half going after Link, Kendra and Kate.

"Willie! Watch out!" Kari cried, two of the soldiers had caught up with them, their swords drawn. Willie quickly drew his sword in his left hand, the reins in this right.

"By order of the king of Hyrule-" the soldier began. "Shut up!" Willie shouted, he slashed at the soldier, but the soldier easily ducked. He grinned at Willie and slashed him in the back. Willie cried out in pain and Kari gasped.

Willie grit his teeth, and an idea suddenly came to him. He cut the soldier's reins, and the horse stumbled, not having its rider to steer him. The horse stopped running, and the other soldiers had to slow down or stop to avoid hitting it.

Willie grinned and sheathed his sword, trying not to wince at the blood beginning to pour out of his wound.

"Are you ok Willie?" Kari asked, Willie nodded. "Yeah." He said. Soon a house came into view, Willie pulled Princess to a stop in front of it, and helped Kari down. The he half fell, half climbed off Princess.

"Willie! Are you ok?" Kari asked, she helped him to his feet. Willie grit his teeth and the two stumbled into the little house, Kari helping Willie the whole time.

"Here, sit down." Kari said, pointing to the floor. She disappeared back outside and returned with a box of medical supplies. Willie raised an eyebrow at her, she shrugged her shoulders.

"What? I wanted to be prepared." She knelt down next to Willie and opened the box.

"Take off your shirt so I can see the wound." She said, Willie glanced at her.

"Just do it!" she snapped, pulling out a bandage. Willie shrugged and pulled his tunic off. (I told you I'm lame, I couldn't think of anything else for him to wear.)

"Turn around." Kari said, Willie listened and turned to his back was facing her. His wound was deep and was oozing blood. Kari sucked in her breath at the sight of the wound; she never dealt with anything this serious before.

"Hold still, this might sting a little." She said, she pulled out a bottle of clear liquid and poured some on the wound. Willie stiffened and groaned.

"Have you seen… my dad or your mom?" Willie said, gritting his teeth from the sting.

Kari shook her head, "no, I haven't seen them. I looked around while I got the medical kit, but the fog was too thick to see anything. I also looked for the soldiers, but they're gone too." Kari picked up the bandage lying next to her and began wrapping it around Willie's stomach and lower back.

Willie was trying hard not to blush. The woman he'd loved since he was six was wrapping a bandage around his stomach. To bad she hated him… right?

Kari was also trying her hardest not to blush, she mentally scolded herself. She hated Willie! But then… why did being near him make her so nervous?

Kari gently tied the bandage, "there." She said, and then she began putting the medical stuff away.

"Kari?" Willie said, Kari looked up at him. "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

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Meanwhile, a little while earlier…

"Quick! This way!" Link said, he saw Willie and Kari head to the right, and half of the guards went after them.

Kendra flicked the reins, and Reina galloped faster until he was next to Link and Epona.

"Stay near Epona!" Link said, Kendra nodded and Link pulled out his fairy bow. He carefully took aim for one of the guards, and hit with the skill of a true marksmanship. Kendra watched, she was beginning to grow suspicious.

The guards quickly drew back, realizing it was foolish to pursue them in the fog. Link breathed a sigh of relief and turned to face Kendra and Kate.

"We need to get out of here. I know a place we can go, it won't take too long to get there, and the soldiers won't look for us there." He said.

"Where's that?" Kate asked, Link grinned. "The place I was raised, Kokiri forest."

Kate's eyes widened. "You were raised in Kokiri forest?!" she said, Link nodded.

"I was, and right now I think that's the best place to go. We can stay there for a while. The Kokiri won't mind at all, they're good friends of mine." He said, Kendra nodded.

"Lead on Link, that sounds like the safest place for us right now." She said, Link nodded and turned Epona towards Kokiri forest.

"This way." He said, he flicked the reins, and Epona began to canter towards the forest. Kendra mimicked him and soon Reina was cantering next to the sorrel mare.

Link and Epona led Kendra and Kate to a small path by some trees. As soon as they got close, Link dismounted Epona.

"Horses can't go into the forest, so you'll have to leave them behind." Link said, Kendra nodded and dismounted Reina, Kate followed.

"What about the horses?" Kate asked as they turned to enter the forest. "Tie their reins together, Epona won't leave me." He said, Kate did so.

Link led them through a tunnel, across a wooden bridge and through another tunnel. He grinned as they stepped into Kokiri forest.

"Welcome to Kokiri forest."

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**Wow, I never really realized how short this chapter is. I'll update the next one in a few days. I'll update the rest as soon as I can. I've had so many story ideas swimming around in my head that I've had to type out. Recently my favorite cartoon has been Danny Phantom, so I've been typing a lot of Danny Phantom stories, as well as a few original ideas as well. Few, I've been busy. But, if you find yourself in need of a story idea, contact me! I'm a never ending hole of story ideas.**

**Review please!**

**Anime Wildfire**


	17. Lost & Alone, Willie and Kari

**Yay! I'm so proud of myself for getting this chapter up soon. I decided to update a bit early, i haven't had much time to type this week due to a chemestry test and a government test on Tuesday.**

**Ok, A while back, I thought of this awesome story idea to put into Link's hardships, but unfortunatly couldn't find a way to mold it into the story. That's when I came up with a plan. i will be posting, (after this story is over) an alternate ending to Link's hardships. Yay!! It was originally going to be an extra chapter, but it was too long, so I will be posting it as a seperate story. You all will love it, it's hilarious. I'll give you a tiny peek... at the end of the chapter. Hehe! Enjoy!**

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Willie and Kari were sitting in the house, Willie was resting against the wall, his back still sore from the medicine.

"We need to keep watch and make sure the soldiers don't find us." Kari said, standing up to look out the window. Willie nodded.

"That's probably a good idea." He said. Kari nodded and sat one the floor next to him, they were silent for a minute, thinking. Finally Willie said.

"Can we talk about something? The silence is killing me." Kari nodded,

"Sure, what do you want to talk about?" Willie shrugged. "I dunno, whatever you want to talk about."

"Hmm, how about… your family?" she asked, Kari had always been curious about Willie's family.

"I never knew my mother." He started, "as long as I can remember I've asked my dad about my mother. But all he ever says is that she died giving birth to me." He said.

"Sometimes I see him staring off at a distance, and I just get that feeling that he's thinking about her, you know? But other than stories, I've never known anything about her. I just want to know about HER, what she looked like, her name, all about her." Kari bit her lip, she knew just how Willie felt. She had never known her father. He had died before her sister was even born.

Kari drew her knees up to her chest and hugged her knees.

"I know how you feel." She said, Willie looked at her.

Kari continued, "I barely knew my father. He died while my mother was still pregnant with my sister, my mother says I look just like him, she says my personality is like his too. And yet… I don't feel like I'm anything like him." Kari said, glancing up at Willie. He nodded.

"That's how I feel." He said. "Like I'm like her, yet… I'm not." Kari nodded. Willie suddenly grinned.

"I guess we do have something in common." He said, and even Kari managed to smile.

"That's not exactly what I'd want to have in common." She said, smiling. She stood up and walked over to the window, glancing out.

"Still no sign of anyone, but the fog's starting to clear up." She said. She turned around,

What are you doing?!" she snapped. Willie was trying to stand, his back was pushed against the wall and he tried to push himself up.

"You idiot!" Kari snapped, she raced over and tried to push him back down. "You're in no condition to do anything!"

"I… have to…. Get up." Willie mumbled. Kari looked confused. "Why?"

"Who's going to protect you…" he said, not meeting her eyes. Kari took a step back.

"Is that what you're worried about? Me getting hurt?" she asked, Willie hesitated, the nodded.

"That's sweet," Kari said, "but you don't have to worry about me. I may not look like it, but I've learned my share of fighting skills." She quickly glanced out the window.

"I still…. Have to get up…" Willie said, struggling to his feet. Kari bit her lip, it hurt her to see him push himself like that, just so he could protect her.

"Listen, you can't fight right now. Your body needs time to heal. Rest for a while." Kari soothed, gently pushing Willie back down. Willie closed his eyes and leaned against the wall.

Kari instantly grew concerned. "Willie?" she said, he opened his eyes and looked at her. "Yeah?" he said. Kari sighed in relief. "Just checking." She said, looking back out the window.

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"Wow!" Kate said, her eyes were filled with excitement. She took a step forward. "You really grew up here?" Link nodded.

"Yep. Lived here until I was ten years old. Then I left." He said. "Why?" Kendra asked.

"I wanted to become an explorer, I needed to get out and have some adventures." Link replied, glancing around his forest home. "Come on, I'll show you where you can stay." Link said before he started jogging towards his old home. Kate and Kendra glanced at each other and followed him.

"It's beautiful." The three were standing in Link's old house, the girls were instantly in love with it.

"It's so neat." Kate said, sitting in one of the chairs, Link nodded and blushed. "I was a pretty neat kid." He said. Kendra smiled.

"I can just imagine you living here as a ten-year-old." She said, sitting on the bed. "Willie and I lived her for a while too, when he was a baby. The Kokiri watched him and took care of him while I worked." Link said.

Kendra sighed, she looked up at Link, "Link, what's going on? Why are the soldiers after Willie?" she asked. Link frowned and sat in one of the chairs.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm being too nosy-"Kendra said, but Link cut her off.

"-No, it's ok. I'll tell you. But before I do. You have to promise not to tell anyone. No one else can know about this." Link said, looking up and Kate and Kendra.

"We won't tell anyone." Kate promised, and Kendra nodded. Link nodded.

"Good." He said. He took a deep breath.

"First off, Willie's mother isn't dead. She didn't die in childbirth. In fact, she's alive and well, living in Hyrule castle."

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"Kari?"

"Yeah?" Kari replied, "What time is it?" he asked. Kari glanced out the window. "Well, I don't have a watch, but from the look of things, I'd say it's around noon." Willie nodded.

"How's your wound?" Kari asked, Willie gave a slight groan. "It's getting better." He said.

"Let me see." Kari said, Willie nodded and shifted so she could lift up his tunic and check his wound.

"Hmmm. It looks like the bleeding's stopped. But there's still the risk of infection." She said, narrowing her eyes at his wound.

Willie's stomach suddenly gave a loud rumble, and he blushed. Kari grinned. "Getting hungry are we?" she said. "I don't think we have any food… but I'll look." Kari walked over to her bag and opened it up, digging around inside of it.

"Nope, nothing to eat in here. Guess we're gonna have to go find something." She said, she stood up.

"Willie, there's no food here, so I'm gonna have to go find some. Will you be ok by yourself?" she asked.

"I'll come with you, I don't want you to go alone." He said, Kari rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips.

I'm perfectly able to take care of myself." She said.

"I don't doubt that, I just can't handle the face that you're running around while I'm sitting here playing injury." Willie said, standing up. Kari hesitated.

"I don't know Willie… what if you open your wound? It could get infected." She said, concern filled her eyes.

"I'll be fine, I can handle it." Willie said. Kari sighed, "If you think you're up to it…" she said. She opened the door and held it for Willie. Willie nodded and stepped out into the light. He grinned.

"It's beautiful out here, isn't it?" he said, looking away from the sky to glance at Kari. Kari smiled and nodded, this must be what her mother meant by Willie having a kind heart. (Remember chapter 15?)

Willie was already several feet ahead of her, so Kari jogged to catch up with him. "So Willie, what do you plan on doing after you leave school?" she asked, slowing to a walk next to him. Willie shrugged.

"I don't really know, I haven't really thought that far yet. Mostly I was thinking about becoming an explorer and going on adventures. Or than that I was thinking of settling down." Willie said, Kari nodded.

"An adventure sounds really fun right now." She said, looking up at the clear blue sky. Willie nodded and glanced down at her.

"What about you? What do you plan on doing?" he asked, Kari sighed. "I'm still not sure. At first I was thinking about moving out and living alone for a while, testing my skills in the real world. But lately… I've been thinking about getting married and maybe even raising a family." Her eyes softened at the word 'family.'

Willie winced after she said 'married' and 'family'.

"Hey look!" Kari said, "An apple tree!" she ran ahead of Willie and stopped at the base of a tree.

"There's enough here to last for days!" she said, Willie grinned and ran his hand across the smooth bark of the apple tree. "We defiantly won't be going hungry." He joked, and Kari rolled her eyes at him before latching her hands onto a lower branch and easily pulling herself into the tree.

"Careful Kari! I'm really not in the mood to climb up after you if you get stuck!" he said in a teasing voice. Kari glanced down at him.

"Well at least I know you're back to normal." She said before grabbing some apples and tossing them down. Willie easily caught them and set them on the grass next to him.

Willie continued to catch the apples Kari threw down from the tree, until finally there was a huge pile of them sitting by his feet.

"Ok Kari! I think we have enough apples!" Willie said, pointing to the huge pile next to him. Kari grinned and started to climb down, accidentally scraping the back of her arm on the way down.

She easily leaped to the ground, and plopped down next to the pile of apples. Willie sat next to her, being cautious of his cut, and began to dig into the apples. Kari eagerly followed his example. The two ate apple after apple, both were starving after not eating for a whole day.

"Let's take the rest of these apples back with us." Kari said, nodding towards the pile once the two had finished eating. Willie nodded. "Good idea."

Kari stood up and began to collect some of the apples in her arm. She handed them to Willie before picking the rest of them up. Willie nodded to her and the two began walking back to the farmhouse in silence.

"Willie?" Kari said, Willie glanced over at her. "Yeah?"

"I've been thinking… and, if you're anything like your mother, she must have been a wonderful person." She said, she watched Willie's reaction.

Willie's eyes clouded with sadness, he looked up at the sky, and his eyes seemed to burn a hole in the sky. Kari felt tears well up in her eyes, she blinked them away before Willie could notice.

"Thank you Kari, that means a lot to me." Willie said, smiling weakly at her before walking ahead of her towards the house.

Kari watched him go, her heart aching for some reason. She shook her head and sighed. This wasn't the time to get all teared-up. She had to remain strong. Kari started walking again, unable to shake away the feeling that something bad was going to happen.

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**Oooooooooh! What's going to happen next? Only I know, and I bet it won't be what you expect! Ha! I love cliff hangers.**

**Ok, now for the sneeky peeky. If you don't want to spoil it, skip ahead. **

**The alternate ending starts out when Willie & Kari are seventeen. Kendra has recieved a letter from Kyra that they is coming to visit and Katrina is going to force Willie to marry her. So what do Link and Kendra do? Come up with the brilliant scheme of Willie and Kari pretending to be married!**

**So, what'd ya think? Sounds fun huh? I'll post it up as soon as this story is finished.**

**Thanks for all the awesome reviews! It's your reviews that modivate me and keep me goin! thanks alot!**

**Anime Wildfire**


	18. Kari's dicovery

**Ok, here's the next chapter. I was on the computer this morning when I suddenly had the sudden urge to type this story. So I did, and here's the result! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 18- Kari's discovery**

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last time with Link, Kendra and Kate...

_"First off, Willie's mother isn't dead, she didn't die in childbirth. In fact, she's alive and well, living in Hyrule castle."_

_-0-_

"She lives in Hyrule castle?" Kendra asked, Link took a deep breath.

"Yes. Like I said, Willie's mother isn't dead, she lives in Hyrule castle. Her name is Zelda, or rather, as most people call her, princess Zelda." He said. Kate's mouth fell open and Kendra gasped.

"Princess Zelda is Willie's mother?!" she said, Link nodded.

"But how is that possible? The princess never got married or had any children." Kendra said, Link took a deep breath.

"Maybe I should tell you the whole story." He said, Kendra nodded, so Link began.

"I don't know if you know this, but I am the hero of time." Link said, Kendra looked impresses.

"But I though the hero of time was in hiding?" she said, Link nodded.

"I was, you're the only people who know about this besides the king." Link said, Kendra raised her eyebrows, Link waved his hand,

"Never mind that, the point is, I am the hero of time, and Zelda is the princess of destiny. After we defeated Ganondorf, we fell in love. But we both knew there was no way the king would let us marry…"

Flashback

_It was dark out, and Hyrule castle was quiet. On one side of the castle, a young teenage boy was scaling the wall, his eyes glowing in the moonlight as he rapped on the window of one of the rooms. A teenage girl opened it, the boy jumped inside and the two embraced before the girl pulled away._

"_Link, I'm so glad you came, I was worried about you." She said, the boy grinned. _

"_It was only a couple of Moblins." He said, smiling down at the girl, "there was nothing to worry about Zelda." He said. The girl smiled at him, and the two hugged._

End flashback

"You loved the princess?" Kendra said, Link nodded, "we were only seventeen, but were in love, so we decided to do something about it." He said,

"You got married in secret." Kendra said, Link nodded, "we did, we got married by one of the sages of Hyrule."

Flashback

_Several people were in the temple of time, Nabooru, Impa, Saria, Ruto, Darunia and Rauru, the sage of light. A man and a woman stood at the alter, the girl was wearing a beautiful white wedding dress, and the boy was wearing a handsome black tunic. Link and Zelda._

"_Do you Zelda; take Link to be your lawful wedded husband?" Rauru said, _

"_I do." Zelda said, smiling at Link, he grinned back._

"_And do you Link, take Zelda to be your lawful wedded wife?" Rauru said, _

"_I do." Link said. _

"_Then I pronounce you, man and wife." Rauru said, smiling at the two. "You may kiss the bride." He said, Link and Zelda smiled at each other before kissing, the other sages started clapping._

_All at once white confetti began fall from above them, Zelda, Link's arm around her shoulder, turned to the sages. _

"_All right, which one of you did this?" she asked, gesturing towards the confetti, the other sages shrugged. "We didn't." they said._

"_It is a gift from the goddesses; they are blessing your marriage." Rauru said, smiling at both of them. Zelda and Link smiled at each other, they were both happy._

End flashback

"What happened?" Kendra asked, Link glanced up at her.

"We were found out. I don't know how it happened, but someone learned about us and told her father." He said,

Flashback

_Zelda and Link sitting in their secret room, cuddled up on the couch, talking about all sorts of things._

"_Link… how are we going to tell my father about our marriage?" Zelda asked, Link glanced away. _

"_I don't know yet, but we will, what's the worst he can do to us?" he said,_

"_He could have you executed!" Zelda said in alarm. Link took her hand in his. _

"_Zelda… don't worry, he won't find out about our marriage..." He said in a soothing voice, trying to calm her down, Zelda smiled at him. _

"_Speaking of our marriage…" Zelda said, she turned to face him._

"_Link… I've got to tell you something…" Zelda said. He smiled at her, _

"_What is it?" he asked, Zelda opened her mouth to speak, but a loud clanging noise stopped her._

"_Quick! Someone must be coming! You've got to leave!" Zelda said, she jumped up and walked over to the bookcase. Link jumped up and followed her. "Hurry! Before anyone catches you here!" Zelda said, Link nodded. Unknown to them, one of the maids stood hidden by the fireplace entrance._

"_Zelda… don't worry about our marriage, no one will find out." Link said, kissing Zelda gently, she kissed him back and then pulled away._

"_Go! Hurry!" she said, Link nodded and stepped into the tunnel. The maid quickly hurried away, she had heard enough. Zelda quickly picked up her skirts and hurried out before someone noticed she was gone._

End flashback.

"What did her father do to you?" Kendra asked, Link ran his hands through his hair.

"He banished me from Hyrule castle and forbid me to see Zelda ever again." He said,

Another flashback…

_Two guards held Link tight by the arms as they pulled him to the throne room, the king stood in front of his throne, pacing. Zelda sat in a throne next to him, two guards keeping her from running to Link._

"_YOU!" the king said once they pulled Link up in front of him "you betrayed me! You and Zelda both! You betrayed me by marrying without my permission!" the king shouted at Link._

"_But father-"Zelda began but the king stopped her, "You were seen talking about your marriage! And kissing!" he said, Link tried to speak, but the king interrupted him_

"_-For this treason Link, you are here by banished from Hyrule castle, and you are never to see my daughter again!" he shouted._

"_No!!" Zelda cried, tears beginning to pour down her cheeks, she jumped up and tried to run to Link, but two guards held her back._

"_Zelda!" Link cried, he started struggling as several guards started to pull him towards the door. "ZELDA!" _

"_Link!" Zelda cried, she fell to her knees, crying as Link disappeared and the doors closed. The king waved his hand and the guards left, he waved his hand again, and Impa entered the room, her face showed no emotion, but anyone could guess the pain she was feeling._

"_Impa, please take my daughter to her room." The king said, sitting on his throne with his head in his hands. Impa nodded sadly and walked over to Zelda, helping her to her feet._

"_I never got to tell him." She said, tears pouring slowly down her cheeks, the king looked up at her. _

"_Tell him what?" he asked._

"_That I'm carrying his baby."_

End flashback

Kendra, Kate and Link sat in silence, until finally Kendra spoke. "What did you do?" she asked, Link looked up.

"I went back to the only thing I had ever known, besides Zelda. I went back to going on adventures. I traveled all over Hyrule, trying to forget everything that happened. I told myself that I was doing it to help others, but I guess I was really doing it to try and forget my pain." He said,

"Navi tried to help, she never asked me about it, and she always spoke gently to me. She was suppost to go home after the whole deal with Ganondorf, but I think she knew it would devastate me to lose anyone else that was close to me." He said,

"That's such a sad story." Kate said, she, Kendra and Link sat in silence, thinking about everything.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"Kari, we've got to get out of here." Willie said the next morning. She glanced at him curiously. "Why?"

"If the king's men show up here, we're gonna get caught way too easily. We need to keep moving." Willie said, wincing slightly as he got to his feet.

Kari bit her lip, she had seen Willie wince and was worried about him, but he was right, they needed to keep moving to avoid getting caught.

"Alright, we'll leave tomorrow. That should give your wound a bit of time to heal." She said, she began gathering their stuff.

"Try and get as much rest as you can Willie, we'll need it." Kari said, glancing at him to make sure he rested. Willie nodded and sat back down, grabbing the nearest back pack and rummaging through it, eventually finding what he was looking for- a knife and piece of wood. Kari stared at him curiously.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her curiosity finally getting the best of her. Willie glanced over at her.

"I'm carving, it's an easy way to pass the time." He said, Kari nodded and returned to her packing.

_It's going to be a busy day._

--------------------------------------------------------

"Mom! Look what I found!" Kate said as she raced over to Kendra, she may be fifteen, but was always excited about discovering something new.

"It's beautiful Kate." Kendra said, taking the beautiful white flower Kate offered her. "Where did you find it?" she asked,.

"By the stream, I was washing up when I saw a whole bunch of them on the other side of the creek!" she said.

"Kate! Come play with us!" several Kokiri children said, running up to Kate and taking her hands. Kate laughed and let the children lead her off. Kendra turned to Link.

"Does Willie know anything about his mother being princess Zelda?" she asked him, Link shook his head.

"No, I didn't want him to find out. I was afraid that if he knew, he would be hurt just as I was. He would never have been able to see his mother. I mean, how could anyone live like that? Knowing your mother was alive and never being able to see her." He said, Kendra nodded. "Good point." She said. She sighed and looked upwards.

"My only concern right now is that we haven't heard anything from Kari and Willie for days, I hope they're all right." She said.

"They'll be fine, Willie knows all about Hyrule. I made sure of that. He'll take good care of Kari." He said, Kendra nodded,

"It's not really her I'm worried about, I know he'll protect her, it's Willie I'm worried about. Just before we got separated, I thought I saw Willie get hurt by one of the soldiers." She said, concern flashed through Link's eyes, but was gone as quickly as it came.

"Like I said, he'll take care of Kari, and Kari'll take care of him." He said, Kendra laughed.

"I still can't help but worry though." She said, Link nodded.

"Me too."

---------------------------------------------

"Kari?" Willie said, it was the next morning, and Willie was anxious to get moving. "are you ready to get moving?" he asked. Kari nodded from where she was sitting.

"Yep, there's just one thing to do." She said, she nodded at Willie. "Take your tunic off and let me check your wound." She said.

Willie groaned, but did as she said. Moving so she could see his back. Kari slowly undid the bandage to see how the wound was healing. Judging by the scab forming over the wound, it was doing well.

Kari ran her finger over the wound, wincing at how it stretched from his left shoulder to the right side of his waist.

"It looks like it's getting better, but you'd better take it easy for the next day or two." She said, wrapping the bandage back over the wound.

"Thanks, I'll try and be careful." Willie said, pulling his green tunic back over his head.

"Just don't over do yourself." Kari said, picking up Princess's heavy saddlebag and carrying it over to the door.

"Speaking of overdoing…" Willie said, getting to his feet. "Why don't you let me carry that?" he said, gesturing towards the saddlebag. Kari shook her head.

"That's ok, I can handle it." She said, carrying the heavy bag towards the door. Willie stepped in front of the door.

"Trust me, it's not that easy. Princess's got a high back, there's no way you'll be able to get it on her. I even have trouble at times." He said. Kari sighed,

"Fine, have it your way." She said, she handed him the saddle.

Willie grinned and took the saddle, unblocking the door to let Kari pass. She did, and Willie followed her out to where Princess was waiting.

She nickered at the sight of him and trotted over to him before nuzzling his face. Willie laughed and set the saddlebag down to stroke her one the nose. Princess nickered happily and nuzzled him back. Willie grinned at her and turned to get her saddle, only to feel princess's head push him in the back, he glanced at her, and she nickered and turned her head toward where Kari was busy tying their bags.

Willie rolled his eyes at her and continued toward her saddle, picking it up and carrying it over to princess's side before swinging it over her back, adjusting it in place and buckling the girth strap.

(Girth strap, the one that buckles under the horse's belly. Just in case no one knew…)

Willie and Kari spent the next fifteen minutes tying the rest of their baggage to princess's saddle. Willie undid his sword and sheath from princess's saddle and strapped it to his back, getting the feeling it would be better to carry it with him.

"Let's get going." Willie said, he swung up on princess and reached a hand down to help Kari. She took his hand and swung up behind him, glancing at their little home one last time.

"Let's go."

----------------------------------

Princess Zelda stared out across the balcony outside her bedroom. It was hard to keep her thoughts from wondering to Link when she was alone.

"Link… I miss you so much. Yet there are times when I wonder, how long could our relationship have lasted before my father found out anyway? Our relationship alone was hard enough, it would have been even harder to hide my pregnancy from him." With a sigh, Zelda leaned against the table.

"Princess?" a voice said, Zelda turned and saw Impa standing behind her. "Are feeling better your highness?" she asked. Zelda sighed again.

"A bit, perhaps rest was all I needed after all." She said. Impa nodded and left the room, leaving Zelda alone again.

Zelda had caught the flu the week before, and it had not ceased since then. She had not been able to see her son either, for fear the child would catch the sickness himself. And being the only heir to the throne…

And then there was James, her husband. He had come to see her several times, it seemed Impa's warnings fell on deaf ears. He was a good man, and even though she didn't love him, Zelda was glad they could at least be friends.

"Zelda?"

Well speak of the devil.

"How are you feeling? I ran into Impa in the hallway, and she said you were doing a little bit better, but you were still feeling sick." He said, Zelda nodded.

"I do still feel a bit sick, but I think I'm getting better." She said, scooting over to let him join her by the balcony. Zelda stared at the stars, thinking about all the times she and Link had watched the stars together.

"You miss him, don't you?" James said, observing the pained look on Zelda's face. She nodded. "Very much."

James glanced at his feet. "I can't pretend I know the pain you went through, losing your husband and son and all, but I do know what it's like to lose someone you care very much about." He said, Zelda glanced at him.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"My sister." James said, "When we were little, my sister and I were very close. She was five years older than me, but that never bothered us." He said.

"What happened?" Zelda asked.

"She found out she was engaged to be married. I was only 12 when she left, and she was 17. I think my father didn't like the idea of us being so close, because every time I tried to visit her, my father would make up some excuse as to why I couldn't." James said, resting his head on his hand.

"Did you ever see her again?" Zelda asked. When he shook his head she rested and hand on his shoulder.

"No. A few years later I was sent here to marry you, the opposite direction of where my sister had gone. But the last I heard, she was queen and had two children, one of them named after me." He said, smiling. Zelda smiled to and glanced up at the sky.

"We both seem to have rotten luck." She said, both she and James laughed.

"But you know, at least it got better." She said, James nodded. And the two spent the remainder of the evening watching the stars. Not as a husband and wife or as lovers, but as friends.

------------------------------------------------------------

"Willie, what's that over there?" Kari said, pointing to what looked like a group of people a few hundred feet away.

"I don't know." Willie said, he leaned closer. "Kari." He said suddenly. She looked alarmed. "What?"

"It's the guards." Kari's eyes widened.

"We've got to hide! Quick before they spot us!" she said. Willie turned Princess and galloped her towards the forest not to far away.

Unfortunately, the guards spotted them and started chasing after them, giving them no choice but to leave Princess behind once they reached the forest.

"Bye girl, I'll find you later." Willie said, kissing Princess on the nose before smacking her on the rump. Princess snorted and galloped away, escaping from the soldiers.

"Let's go!" Kari said, she and Willie ran deep into the forest, stopping to catch their breath only when they felt they were far away enough.

"Do you… think it's… safe?" Kari said, trying to catch her breath. Willie nodded.

"Yeah… we should be far away enough." He said, he glanced around. "Let's try and find a cave or something to sleep in."

Kari nodded and disappeared into the trees while Willie tried not to injure his back ever more then he already had. A minute or two later, Kari reappeared from the trees.

"There's a clearing over there surrounded by some bushes, but no cave." She said, Willie nodded.

"That'll work." He said, he struggled to his feet, causing Kari to run over and help him up. They had left all their supplies, including food, tied to Princess's saddle. So there was no baggage to carry.

Kari was forced to help Willie to the clearing, as his back had started bleeding again. For once, Willie didn't make a joke as Kari struggled to hold Willie up, his weight leaning on her shoulder as she helped him over.

"Sit." Kari instructed. Her tone was so threatening Willie decided it wasn't worth arguing and sat on a log next to one of the bushes.

Kari piled some sticks together and managed to get a fire going. Even though it wasn't dark, the two would rather not take chances.

"WAHHHHHHH!!!!"

Kari jumped to her feet while Willie tried to. "Did you hear that?!" Kari asked, glancing around. Willie nodded. "Yeah."

"It came from over there." Kari said, pointing to her right. She disappeared into the bushes.

"Be careful Kari!" Willie called after her; he heard Kari's muffled reply

(It sound like 'yeah whatever', but Willie wasn't sure)

Ten minutes later, Willie was starting to get worried. He hadn't heard and hostile noises, only Kari cooing at something. But Kari cooing was enough to worry him.

"Where is she?" He grumbled, his foot tapping impatiently.

"Willie! Check this out!" Kari said, she emerged from the bushes carrying a blanket. A question mark appeared over Willie's head.

"A blanket?" he said, Kari rolled her eyes playfully and said.

"No stupid, look IN the blanket." She leaned close and allowed him to pull back a flap of blanket.

A baby stared back at Willie. He had blue eyes and cute brown hair. His gaze moved back from Willie to Kari, who cooed and smiled at him.

"Isn't he adorable?" she said, smiling down at him. Willie stared at her as if she had grown two heads. He had never seen Kari act this way before.

"Kari? Are you… ok?" he asked, Kari glanced at him. "I'm fine stupid, stop worrying about me." She snapped. Willie sighed, this was the Kari he was used to.

"Where'd ya find him?" Willie asked.

"In the woods. I found his mother a few feet away, dead. Apparently she died trying to protect him." She said.

"What's his name?" Willie asked, Kari shrugged, but was suddenly distracted by something in the blanket.

"There's a locket around his neck." She said, unclipping a gold locket around the baby's neck. Opening, she found a picture of a man and a woman, a baby beneath them. On the other side was an engraving that said:

_My love forever, Landon._

"Landon…" Kari repeated. "That must be his name." Willie nodded in agreement.

Kari smiled softly and Landon. "I like that name." She said. Willie watched her, he had never seen her so gentle before.

_Hmm, she finds a baby and suddenly I'm not here._ Willie thought, crossing his arms as Kari sat opposite of him, cradling Landon in her arms. She was smiling and cooing at Landon. Willie snorted and looked away.

Kari glanced up at him and hid back a snort of laughter, Willie looked irritated, very irritated.

_I can't believe he's jealous of a sweet, innocent baby._ Kari thought to herself, she smiled down at Landon.

"How could anybody be jealous you?" She cooed at him, poking his nose gently. She heard Willie groan and looked up to glare at him. "What?"

"I can't believe your acting like this just because of a baby." Kari glared at him before turning her back on him.

"Hmpf, let's go Landon. Negative Ned can sit by himself." And with that she stomped off into the trees, still carrying Landon.

"Kari!" Willie called after her, she didn't reply. He groaned.

"Come on Kari…"

He was cut off by a piercing scream.

----------------------------------------------------------

**Cliffhanger! I love it! I'm such a cruel person...**

**Please review**

**Anime Wildfire**


	19. He knows the truth

**This is bu far my favorite chapter of Link's Hardships. I was practically crying while I wrote this. But the ending is soooo good. Please tell me what you think.**

**Chapter 19- He knows the truth.**

-------------------------------------------------------------

"Kari!" Willie jumped to his feet, ignoring the pain in his back, and quickly raced towards the direction Kari had gone.

"Kari? Kari?!" He called as he came to a clearing. To his left, a stick cracked, and Willie turned to see several soldiers, two of them holding Kari's arms with a cloth tied over her mouth, baby Landon was being held by a different soldier.

"What do you want?" Willie asked, glaring at them. The soldiers glanced at each other.

"By orders of the king of Hyrule, you are to come with us." Willie shook his head.

"Let her go, and I'll come with you." It was the soldier's turn to shake their head.

"We can't do that. We were ordered to bring along anyone with you."

"Let her go!" Willie shouted. "I'm not afraid to fight you." The soldiers smirked.

"You don't have to fight us." He nodded in Willie's direction. Willie wheeled around, only in time to feel a cloth shoved up to his mouth. His senses began to dull and he grew tired, falling to his knees. The last thing he heard was Kari calling his name before he blacked out.

--------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, in Kokiri forest…

Link exited his tree house, a small bag in his hands. He slid down the ladder and grabbed his sword and the bigger bag at the bottom. He headed for the exit, stopping only when he heard Kendra call his name. He turned and waited for her to catch up to him.

"Link, I don't know if you should do this. Willie and Kari will be fine, I know them both, and they're smart enough to get themselves out of any situation." Link hesitated for a second before dropping his bag.

"I'm worried Kendra. Willie would have sent us a note or something if he were able. If he was _able_ Kendra. Something's wrong, I can feel it."

"Link, even if you did go out to find them, how are you going to know where they are? They could be anywhere in Hyrule! They could be in Termina for all we know! I think it's best to wait it out here. Willie knows we're here right?" Link nodded.

"He knows this is where I'd go if there was trouble." Kendra smiled,

"Then there's nothing to worry about. I know Willie and Kari will come when they can. Have faith in them Link, have faith in _your son_."

-----------------------------------------------

"Let him go!" Kari screamed, biting the soldier's hand over her mouth. The soldier cursed and pulled his hand away. He examined it; Kari's teeth had drawn a bit of blood. The soldier glared at Kari.

"Watch it girl, or I might just have to throw that little baby of yours into the river!" Kari gasped, her eyes wide. She didn't say anything.

"That's what I thought." The guard said smugly. Kari glared at him. The guard turned to his companions.

"Put her on a horse and tie her to the saddle. I'll handle the boy." The men nodded, pulling Kari towards one of the horses waiting patiently by a tree. The lifted her onto the saddle, tying her firmly to the saddle.

"Wait, please let me have the baby." Kari pleaded, her eyes on Landon. The guards glanced at her before nodding, loosening her hands enough for her to hold him and tying her legs to the saddle to keep her from jumping off and running.

The guard holding Landon handed him carefully to her before waving to the lead guard. The head guard nodded back, pulling on the rope of a horse behind him that the still unconscious Willie was tied to. The rest of the men mounted their horses, one of them grabbing the reins to Kari's horse and leading them towards the group.

"Let's head back to the castle, the king is waiting for us."

And with that, the group headed back towards the castle.

-------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, in the castle.

"Impa, remind me again why my father insisted I spend the day around the kingdom?" Impa groaned,

"Princess, your father said there was to be a very long meeting today between himself and some of the nobles, and he does not wish for the meeting to distract you, not with how sickly you've been." Zelda sighed,

"Very well, but for some reason, I get the feeling he wants me out of the castle for a while…"

-------------------------------------------------

Kari's jaw dropped as they approached the castle, amazed at the enormous size. She had never been this close to the castle before.

Several soldiers opened the gates and nodded respectfully to the group as they passed through, closing the gate behind them.

At the castle's entrance, the men untied Kari, taking her by the arms as she dismounted, Landon still in her arms.

"Take the boy to the prince's suite, throw her and her child into the dungeon." The head guard instructed, heading into the castle.

"He's not-" Kari started, but was interrupted by a soldier.

"Quiet girl." He nodded towards another soldier. "Let's get her to the dungeon."

"Willie!" Kari said, watching as three of the soldiers carried Willie in the opposite direction. "Willie! Where are you taking him! WILLIE!"

-0-

Willie groaned and sat up, his hand on his fore head. What happened? The last thing he remembered was being in the woods with Kari…. Kari! What had happened to her? Willie quickly raced towards the door, paying not attention to where he was.

"Hey! Let me out! Where's Kari? What have you done with her!?" He shouted through a hole in the top of the door. A guard peered through the door.

"So you've finally awakened your highness. We will alert the king immediately." The door opened, and three soldiers led Willie down the hallway. Willie protested the entire time, continuously asking about Kari and if she was ok.

The king was waiting as they led Willie into the room, tying his arms behind his back.

"Ah, William, nice to see you again. It's been a while." The king said, Willie glared up at him.

"What do you want with me? And how do you even know me?" The king looked slightly taken back. He laughed.

"So that foolish father of yours never told you, ha!" The king started laughing, ignoring the glares Willie was sending him.

"Where's Kari?! What have you done with her!?" Willie shouted, the king stopped laughing.

"You mean that girl the soldiers brought with you? Oh don't worry about her. She'll be fine. In fact, she's on her way here now."

As if one cue, the large double doors on the right opened, and two soldiers appeared leading Kari, who was still holding Landon. Kari's eyes widened the minute she saw Willie.

"Oh Willie! I was so worried! The guards took-" She was cut off by a guard clapping his hand over her mouth. Willie immediately jumped to his feet.

"Don't hurt her!" He shouted, and the guard removed his hand from her mouth.

The king beckoned the soldiers with Kari, and they led her over next to Willie. As the king watched them, he suddenly noticed Landon in Kari's arms.

His eyes budged.

"That child…" He trailed off, Kari held Landon tighter. "What about him?" she asked suspiciously.

"Is he your son?" The king asked, referring to Kari and Willie. Both Kari and Willie looked surprised. They shook their heads.

"No, we found him in the woods not too long ago." Willie explained, the king sighed in relief.

"Good, guards, take her away." The guards immediately began pulling Kari towards the door, ignoring Willie's shouts of "NO!"

"Please! Let her go! I'll do anything!" Willie shouted, struggling against the ropes the held him. The king motioned for the guards to stop.

"What did you say?" he asked, watching Willie. Willie stared up at him.

"I'll do anything, just let her go." The king's eyes narrowed. "Why?" Willie glanced at Kari before turning back towards the king.

"Because I love her."

----------------------------------------------------

"Link! Mr. Link!" A young Kokiri came running up to Link, who was showing Kate some swordfight stances. "Yes? What is it?"

"There's a horse at the edge of the forest! She's got bags tied to her saddle." Link nodded, turning to Kate and Kendra.

"I'll be right back, I'd better go check this out." Kendra nodded, "We'll come with you."

The Kokiri led Link, Kendra and Kate to the edge of the forest, pointing to the horse standing there. Link recognized it immediately.

"Princess!" he said, running over to her. Princess nickered at him, standing quietly while checked the few bags tied to her saddle.

"This is all Kari and Willie's things. They must of' had to escape on foot." Link noted, turning to face Kendra and Kate. Kendra's eyes widened.

"Which must mean-" Link nodded.

"They were captured by the soldiers."

----------------------------------------------------

The king looked astonished, as well as Kari. Her eyes were wide as she stared at Willie. Her mouth open but no words coming out.

"Preposterous!" The king shouted, "you can never be with her!" it was just like the situation with Link and Zelda. Only this time it was the prince and the pauper.

Willie's eyes narrowed.

"Why not! What are you talking about anyway?!" the king grinned.

"Your father never told you did he? Didn't ever tell you anything about your mother?" Willie's eyes widened in surprise.

"what does my mother have to do with any of this?!" the king chuckled.

"My dear boy, don't you know who you are? You are prince William, the crown prince of Hyrule and the son of Princess Zelda."

Willie's eyes widened in shock, he heard Kari gasp at his right. Immediately his eyes filled with fury.

"You're lying!" He shouted, struggling against the ropes. "My mother died years ago! I'm no son of princess Zelda!" the king sat calmly on his thrown.

"Haven't you ever wondered why your father never told you about her? Why there are not pictures of her around your home? Haven't you ever wondered?" Willie fell silent, thinking about everything the king said. He shut his eyes, not wanting it to be true, not wanting to believe that his father had lied to him all these years…

"I demand someone tell me what is going on!" A woman's voice rose from the door on the left, along with the sound of someone trying to reassure them.

"No! I insist you let me in this INSTANT!" Eventually, the doors began to open, and much to everyone's surprise, a very ticked off princess Zelda stormed into the room, eyes a blazed with fury.

"FATHER! I demand you explain what is going on her! Sending me on a wild goose-" she caught sight of Willie, and her eyes widened in recognition.

"Link…?" She stuttered, her mouth hanging open. Then, if possible, her eyes widened even more.

"No, you're not Link, you're-" she broke off, turning to look at her father.

"So this is why you wanted me gone today?! So you could kidnappe my son and bring him here without my knowing it?!"

"So it's true then?" A voice said. All eyes turned to Kari. Zelda glanced at Willie, and then nodded.

"Yes, it is true. William is my son. Perhaps-" She turned away from her father and walked over to Willie.

"-It is time for you to know the whole story." She beckoned the guards to bring Kari over until they were standing side by side. Zelda took a deep breath.

"Seventeen years ago, Link and I saved Hyrule by defeating the evil king, Ganondorf. When it was all over, we fell in love. We were young, both of us were seventeen. But we wanted to be together, no matter what."

Zelda looked away, her eyes filled with memories.

"We knew my father would never approve of our marriage, so we married in secret. A few months later, I learned I was pregnant." She threw a glance at Willie.

"But somehow, my father found out. He forced us apart- "she threw a glare at her father as she said that. "-And I was forced to have my child in secret here in the castle." Both Kari and Willie were quiet, waiting for Zelda to continue.

" I named you William, and my father forced me to give you up. I pleaded with him, but he would hear non of it." Once again Zelda threw a glare at her father.

"I searched Hyrule for your father, and when I found him, I gave him to you. Link was sworn never to tell who the mother of the baby was, and no one in Hyrule besides the three of us and my guardian Impa were to know I had even had a child."

"So that's the story." Willie said, "My dad lied to me. He told me you were _dead_." Willie choked out, lifting his head to meet his mother's gaze.

"All I've wanted my whole life was to meet you, to know everything about you, and here I find out you've been alive this whole time!" Willie was crying now, a few tears trailing down his cheeks. Zelda was crying too, she stared at Willie, then threw her arms around him, hugging him for the first time in 16 years.

Kari watched the whole scene, tears trailing down her own cheeks as she cradled baby Landon. It must have been so hard, giving up your only child…

BAM! The doors behind them burst open, and Link and running into the room.

"Willie!" He shouted, his eyes widening at the sight of Zelda and Willie. He walked over slowly.

"Zelda…" she smiled at him, glancing back at her son. "He knows Link, he knows the truth now." Willie turned to his father, his cheeks wet from crying. Zelda instructed the soldiers to cut the rope on Willie's arms, and Willie ran to his father, hugging him.

Zelda approached father and son, and they welcomed her into the hug, the three of them together for the first time.

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**I'll say it again, I love this chapter. Love it love it love it love it. It didn't turn out excatly the way I thought it would, but I love it non the less.**

**Ok, now for the next chapter, I'm planning on skipping ahead to a few months later, so I'd like to take a vote:**

**1. Do I skip ahead to a few months later, or**

**2. Do I continue on right where this chapter leaves off.**

**Please vote and let me know what you think!**

**Thanks all!**

**Anime Wildfire**


	20. The strength of wisdom

**I finally sat down this morning and forced myself to finish this chapter. I started it yesterday, but it got late and I had to finish it today. We finally get some Will/Kari fluf in here! As well as a shoking surprise at the end! HAHA! I love being the author!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaminer- I realize I keep forgetting to put this in. but hosnesty, do I look like I'm a genius who could could invent something like the legend of Zelda? I don't think so... Although I wouldn't mind owning Link...**

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Last time…

_Zelda approached father and son, and they welcomed her into the hug, the three of them together for the first time._

-0-

Now…

"I will not have this!" The king roared, jumping up from his throne. Zelda pulled back from her hug with her son and lost lover and turned to glare at her father.

"How dare you!" She shouted, moving closer to the throne. Her father glared down at her. Zelda glared back with equal fire.

"You've chased them for days, forced them to go into hiding their whole lives, kidnapped Willie and dragged him off to the castle, and dragged a poor innocent girl and child into it as well! HAVE YOU NO SHAME?!!" The king seemed a bit stunned, but he quickly composed himself.

"I WILL NOT ALLOW HIM TO LEAVE THIS CASTLE! He is to remain here as the prince of Hyrule!" Zelda stared up at her father, tears gathering in her eyes.

"Mother would be so disappointed in you." She said coldly. The king recoiled as if she had slapped him across the face. He watched dumbfounded as Zelda led Link, Willie and Kari out of the throne room.

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Zelda closed the doors behind her and led them silently down the hall. Link placed a hand on Zelda's shoulder.

"I know your father was being very unreasonable, but don't you think that was a little harsh?" Zelda sniffed, trying to hold back tears.

"I-it was a bit harsh. But he deserved it, trying to force Willie to stay here when he didn't even know why." She shook her head, wiping her eyes.

"I will apologize later, right now I need to get you three to some rooms. I believe my father already gave Willie suite 6, so Link, you take suite 7, and Kari came have suite 10, right next to my room and down the hall from your rooms."

Zelda nodded to each room as she spoke, leading them down the hallway with the suites. Link and Willie stopped at theirs and watched Zelda lead Kari down the hallway, opening the door for her and Landon.

Once the door to Kari's room was closed, Zelda turned to Link and Willie.

"Goodnight you two, I promise we'll talk tomorrow." Zelda told Link and Willie, blowing a kiss towards them before disappearing into her own room. Willie turned to Link.

"I'm gonna go check on Kari. She's probably just as shocked as I am and I want to make sure she's ok." Link nodded, watching Willie jog down to Kari's room before disappearing into his own.

Willie knocked softly on Kari's door. "Kari? It's me Willie, can I come in?"

"Yes…" He heard Kari's reply from inside the room. Opening the door, he saw Kari sitting on a chair next to a window, staring out into the kingdom.

"Kari? Are you ok? I know everything came as a surprise…" Kari turned to face Willie, and Willie's eyes widened as he saw tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Kari-" He broke off and took a step closer. Kari rose from the chair, standing there for a minute before racing towards Willie. Willie met her in the middle, and Kari threw her arms around Willie's neck, crying softly into his shoulder.

"I'm so glad you're ok…" Kari choked into his shoulder. Willie held her close, his arms wrapped around her shoulders.

"I thought they had done something horrible to you…" Kari continued, her own concern for Willie confused her, she had never cared for him this much.

"I'm ok, I woke up in suite seven down the hall." Willie soothed, tightening his hold around Kari.

Kari's hands clutched Willie's tunic as she rested her head on his shoulder, relaxing as a feeling of security washed over her, Willie wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"Willie?" she said softly, lifting her head to look at him.

"Yeah?" Willie replied, gazing down at her. Kari looked into Willie's eyes.

"Did you mean everything you said back in the throne room?" Willie nodded, eyes still on hers.

"Every word." Kari was silent for a second, sorting through her thoughts.

"How long?" she finally said, " and why haven't you told me?" Willie stared at her for a minute before looking away.

"I don't know how long, I can't remember ever not loving you." He finally said, "and I haven't told you because I didn't think you'd love me back. I was afraid." Kari opened her mouth to speak, but closed it. She bit her lip.

"I need some time." She said, "I need to think. I don't… I don't know how I feel right now. I'm so confused…." Willie released her, nodding.

"I understand. We'll talk some other time, after you've had some time to think." Kari nodded slowly. "Thank you Willie." He shrugged.

"I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" she nodded, smiling. "Ok."

And so Willie left, leaving a very emotionally confused Kari behind.

--------------------------------------------

The next morning, Zelda met Link and Willie in the dining hall and led them to the library so they could _finally_ talk.

"I'm sorry Willie," Zelda apologized. "You must be so confused. But I promise, your father and I will answer all your questions."

The three were sitting in three giant comfy chairs. Willie was hesitant, he already knew his first question.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why did you lie to me?" It was Link and Zelda's turn to hesitate. Zelda finally spoke.

"When you were first born, and I had to give you up to your father, my father made us swear we would never tell anyone who your mother was." Willie waited, curious as to where this was going.

"I hesitated," It was Link who spoke this time, picking up where Zelda had left off.

"I was afraid that if I told you you were a prince and your mother was princess Zelda that you would miss her too much and want to go to the castle. I was selfish. I was afraid to be alone. I was also worried how you would see yourself, and how you would see me. Would you hate the fact that your mother was a princess? Or would you hate me from taking you away from your life _as_ a prince. I was torn, and I was confused. I decided to hide everything from you until you were old enough to choose for yourself. I was going to tell you when you turned 17." Willie opened his mouth to speak, but Link held up his hand.

"Hold on, I'm not finished." Willie nodded and waited for Link to continue.

"As I said, I was planning on telling you when you were 17. I don't know if you remember this, but when you were three, I received a message from the king, your grandfather, requesting I come and speak to him. I was to bring you." Willie nodded.

"I thought some of this was familiar. I remember it a bit, only flashes of it. Didn't it have something to do with me and mom?" Link nodded.

"When I got to the castle, your grandfather tried to take you away from me. He wasn't to thrilled about you being a prince, but your mother had just learned it was unlikely she would have any more children, so he apparently didn't have a choice." Willie nodded, waiting.

"I rescued you from the castle, and we went into hiding. That's why soldiers have been chasing us for all these years, they've been looking for you." Zelda placed a hand on Willie's arm.

"I know all this is hard, it's hard for us too." Willie nodded, glancing up at his parents.

"What happened next?" Zelda glanced at Link.

"Well, from my point of view…" She paused, "A few weeks after I gave you up, my father forced me to marry. He is a good man, but I don't love him, I never did. A few years later I had another child, your half-brother, Erik. But something happened when he was born, we don't know what, but he has a disease that makes it difficult for him to be a normal child. His growth rate is much slower than a normal child. He's six years old, but he acts and thinks like a four-year-old." Willie was barely listening.

"I have a brother, a half brother," he mused. He glanced up, "Can I meet him sometime?" Zelda nodded, "Of course."

"What happened next?" Willie asked, eager to know more about his past.

"You grew up." Link said, "and you grew more and more curious about your mother as you did so. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep the truth from you much longer, but I did try to keep it as much a secret as possible."

"So what-" Willie was interrupted by the door to the library opening. He, Link and Zelda and turned and saw Kari enter the room, closing the door behind her. She turned and saw the three sitting there, and her cheeks turned red.

"Oh I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt. I was just looking for a book to read…" She flushed even redder.

"It's ok," Willie said, his voice soft. Kari blushed again.

"I'm real sorry, I'll just grab a book and be gone, just ignore me…" She turned to the shelves and began running her hands over the titles. Link and Zelda turned back to the conversation, but Willie kept his eyes on Kari. Link had to tap him on the shoulder to get his attention.

"Sorry, what?" Willie asked as he also returned to the conversation. His father looked amused, but his mother looked ready to continue the conversation.

"I knew this day would eventually come…" Link said, Zelda looked a bit confused. "What day?" Link grinned.

"The day Willie fell in love." Zelda gasped, turning to Willie. "Who is she?" she asked. Willie shrugged, so Zelda turned to Link. "Who?" Link nodded towards Kari. Zelda gasped again.

"Her? She's the one?" Link nodded, and Zelda continued. "Oh she's so pretty! You picked a good girl Willie!" Willie's cheeks were red as he glanced away. Kari, or course, was oblivious to all of this. Within minutes she has picked a book and was heading towards the door. However, Zelda wasn't planning on letting her escape that easily.

"Kari!" Kari turned at the sound of her name. Zelda waved at her.

"Why don't you come and join us?" Kari hesitated, not really sure if that was a smart move on her behalf. She finally gave in and walked over to join the trio.

"What book are you reading?" Zelda asked; a bit too excited. Kari showed her the title.

"Sleeping beauty, it's one of my favorites." Zelda smiled.

"That's one of my favorites too." Kari smiled, and Link decided it was time to intervene.

"Where's Landon Kari? I haven't see him today." Kari smiled again.

"He's with a woman named Impa. She said she'd take care of him today." Link nodded.

"Kari, would you mind giving the three of us a minute? I need to ask Willie something." Kari nodded, "Sure, I'll go browse around the books for a while." She stood up and headed back over to the shelves.

Zelda watched her go, smiling the whole time. Link shook Zelda's shoulder to get her attention. She nodded and sighed.

"Alright alright…" Link rolled his own eyes and turned to Willie.

"Alright Willie, I know this is real second notice and everything, but you have to choose." Willie looked confused.

"Choose what?" Link sighed. "You have to choose if you want to return home with me, or stay here with your mother and become the prince of Hyrule." Willie's eyes widened in shock.

"I have to choose?" Link nodded. Willie stood up, taking a few steps away. He was obviously thinking hard.

Link and Zelda waited patiently for Willie to think, exchanging worried glances every few minutes.

After what seemed like forever, Willie returned to his seat, facing his mother and father.

"I thought about it," he started, "and as appealing the life of a prince sounds… I can't." Link and Zelda looked a bit shocked, they obviously both expected Willie to choose to stay with Zelda at the castle. Willie turned to glance at Kari, and Link and Zelda followed his gaze.

"I can't leave her," he said, his expression a bit pained, "I can't do it, I love her too much. I won't do it. Even if she doesn't love me back. _I won't leave her_."

Tears formed in Zelda's eyes. Willie was so devoted to Kari he was giving up his birthright as the prince of Hyrule to be with her. He chose her over being the prince of Hyrule!

"I want to return home with dad. Is that ok with you mom?" Willie asked, Zelda nodded, standing up and throwing her arms around her son's neck. Willie hugged her back, a smile on his face. "Thanks mom." Zelda pulled back to stare up at him, her face full of pride.

(A/N yes, she has to look up. Willie is several inches taller than his mother and about 3-4 inches shorter than Link. For now.)

"I'm so proud of you Willie. You're choosing your dreams over duty, something I never had the courage to do." She praised, placing a hand on his cheek.

"Now we just have to convince my father to let you go."

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"NO! Absolutely Not!" the king roared, jumping to his feet.

Link, Zelda and Willie were standing in front of the throne, having just announced to the king that Willie wanted to return home.

Zelda did not falter in the face of her father's anger.

"You owe it to Willie to let him return home! Haven't you already complicated his life enough?"

Zelda's father, however, would not back down. "I will not let him return home! He is of royal blood, no matter who his father is." He shot a glare at Link as he said the last part.

Zelda was bristling from anger.

"You have already destroyed my dreams! How can you just sit by and destroy his!" The king snarled, sitting back down in his throne. Zelda took a deep breath to calm herself.

"Father," she started, catching his attention. "Willie does not want to rule. He doesn't know how to rule a kingdom. He only found out yesterday that he's a prince. Please let him go home." The king huffed, looking away. Zelda took another deep breath.

"Father, he's in love." The king turned back to stare at Zelda. "What?" Zelda nodded.

"He's in love with a girl, a common girl. A girl he loves very much." The king bristled, his fist clenched. It was Link and Zelda all over again; only this time it was the prince and the pauper.

"I separated you from Link, and I can do it again with your son." He said confidentially.

"And look where it's got you!" Zelda shouted, "a half-royal prince and a sick grandson who will never rule!" Zelda was almost crying now, but she took another breath to calm herself.

"You ruined my happily ever after, but I'll be d----- if I sit here and watch you destroy my son's." the king looked shocked, his eyes wide. But to her surprise, he chuckled.

"I never knew you had it in you Zelda." Zelda's eyes were wide with shock. The king beckoned Zelda closer, and when she was close enough he wrapped his arms around her.

"You looked just like your mother right there. She used to yell at me just like that when I snuck off to the kitchen at midnight." Zelda smiled, he had never told her this before. The king glanced at Link and Willie before turning to Zelda.

"I'm sorry, I've caused you nothing but pain your whole life. You must think so awfully of me. " Zelda shook her head.

"No, but please, let Willie return home."

The king nodded, waving his hand. "He may return home." Zelda smiled.

"Thank you father!" She hugged him, and he laughed.

"Return home Willie, and you too Link. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you all these years. If you ever need anything, let me know. And feel free to come to the castle anytime. You will always be the prince of Hyrule."

Willie had one of the biggest smiles Link had ever seen on his face. "Thank you grandfather, I will come back sometime." The king nodded.

"Don't forget to take that young woman with you, she's very charming indeed." Willie blushed, taking off towards to door to go and find Kari. Link nodded to the king and turned to follow Willie. The king turned to Zelda.

"How about you and I have lunch together and catch up? Seems we need it." Zelda nodded, a huge smile on her face.

"Thank you so much daddy, for everything."

The king had barely heard her, he was thinking about how long it had been since Zelda had called him Daddy.

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A few weeks later, at the castle.

Zelda sat nervously on the couch, waiting. She was still not over her sickness; even though she had been feeling well the entire time Link and Willie were here.

Seconds later, a doctor appeared, leaning against the wall across from Zelda.

"You seem to be getting better highness, the medicine seems to be kicking in. but, it also seems I've found something else." Zelda's eyes widened.

"What? What did you find?" The doctor removed his glasses.

"I'm a bit shocked myself highness, but it seems the goddesses are happy with you." Zelda looked confused,

"What do you mean?" The doctor continued.

"Your highness…. You're pregnant."

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**Was that a shock or what? Haha! I've been planning this since the beginning of the story! The next chapter will take place a few months later, and we'll finall focus on Kari a bit more. She deserves a chapter about her.**

**Please review! Hope you liked it!**

**Anime Wildfire**


	21. Silver fabric

**Happy new year everyone! I apologize for the long wait, but I finally got these chapter finished last night at two in the morning.**

**PLEASE READ! Please go to my profile and vote in my poll. I set up a poll for all my next stories, and I would appreciate it if everyone would vote on which story of mine you'd like to see posted next. I have plenty to choose from, and you can vote for as many as you want.**

**Also, I regret to inform you, I'm thinking about discontinuing Thoughts of a hero. If anyone realllllly wants me to continue that, I'll think about.**

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Kari sat on a log next to the river, her head resting on her hand. It had been several months since Willie had met his mother and learned he was the prince of Hyrule. He'd also confessed his feelings to Kari, something that had completely shocked her system to the core.

Willie was 17 now, so were Jason and Piper. Kari would be turning 17 tomorrow. But right now, Kari's mind was not on her birthday, no matter how much she wanted it to be.

Willie Willie Willie. Ever since he had confessed his feelings, it was all Kari could think about.

"_I'll do anything, just let her go." The king's eyes narrowed. "Why?" Willie glanced at Kari before turning back towards the king._

"_Because I love her."_

"_Because I love her."_ Kari sighed, the words kept repeating in her head over and over, taunting her, pressuring her.

"I don't know, I don't know…" she repeated, her eyes closed. "I don't know if I love him, I don't know how I feel…"

"Kari?" Kari wheeled around to see Piper standing behind her, a concerned look on her face. She walked over and stood next to Kari.

"Are you ok Kari? Your mother's worried about you, and so is Willie." Kari's eyes widened and her heart beat faster. She groaned and sank her head between her legs.

"Why does this keep haunting me? Why can't I get it out of my head?!" Piper sat next to Kari a placed a soothing hand on her shoulder.

"Maybe you do love him. Does your heart beat faster when he's around? Does your head start spinning when you think about him?" Kari nodded. "Yes," Piper smiled.

"Then you must be in love with him. Your heart is trying to tell you, your just not listening properly." Kari frowned,

"I… love him?" She said aloud, biting her lip. Piper nodded. "We both know you do. Think about it, can you imagine yourself marrying him and spending the rest of your life with him?" Kari closed her eyes, images flashing through her mind.

Willie kneeling in front of her holding out a wedding ring.

Willie standing at the alter wearing a black tunic.

Willie holding hands with her and walking along the beach.

Willie standing with her holding a child with blue eyes and blonde hair.

Kari's eyes opened, and she smiled at Piper. "Yes, I can." Piper smiled.  
"Then there's your answer." Kari smiled, Piper held out her hand. "Com on, your mom wants to talk to you about something." Kari smiled and took Piper's hand, pulling herself off the log.

The two girls link arms and made their way back to Kari's house.

"You know Kari, I bet yours and Willie's kids will be awfully cute."

"Shut up."

-0-

"Alright Kari, I was wondering if you would run to the store for me. I'm all out of flour, and I need some for breakfast tomorrow." Kari looked a bit confused, she was almost positive she had seen a bag of flour in the cupboard yesterday. She shook her head.

"Sure mom, I'll go now." Kendra beamed at her handed her some rupees.

"Take your time, I've got loads of stuff to do anyway." Kari shrugged, taking the rupees from her mother. "Alright, I'll run to the clothes store. I need to get some material anyway." Kari pulled her green and silver cloak and headed out, shaking her head and wondering why her mother was acting so strange.

_Maybe it has something to do with my birthday tomorrow?_ She wondered. She made her way to the small store; easily purchasing a bag of flower with the rupees her mother gave her before heading down the street to the fabric store.

The person behind the counter was a short old woman, and her eyes lit up the minute she saw Kari walk in.

"Oh my goodness! What a gorgeous cloak! You certainly have an eye for fashion." Kari smiled, all the while mentally rolling her eyes.

"Thank you, my mother made it for me." The old woman smiled, leaning against the counter.

"So what can I help you with today miss?" She asked. Kari's eyes wondered over the shelves of fabric.

"I'm just looking for some material." She replied, "I was thinking something blue… or maybe silver…" the old woman smiled suggestively.

"Something to impress a young man perhaps? In that case I have just the thing." She disappeared into the back, ignoring Kari's protests against her statement.

She returned minutes later, holding in her hands the most beautiful fabric Kari had ever seen.

The fabric was a shimmering silver color; it looked almost magical. Kari was speechless; she reached out and touched the fabric, running her hand over it.

"It's…." she paused. "It's gorgeous." The old woman smiled, "I had a feeling you'd like this one. It's my special fabric. I only offer it to a select number of customers. Do you want it?" Kari nodded.

"My birthday's tomorrow. It'll be a little present to myself." The old woman laughed, pulling a box out from under the counter. Behind the Kari, the door opened, ringing the small bell above the door.

"There you are Kari, I was looking for you." Startled, Kari wheeled around, only to come face to face with Willie. He grinned down at her.

"Your mom said you said something about going the fabric store after you picked up some flour. Find what you were looking for?" Kari nodded speechlessly, turning back towards the counter to pay for the fabric.

"How much do you need honey?" the old woman asked, pulling out a pair of scissors.

"Five yards." Kari said, her hands on the counter. Willie leaned against the counter next to her, waiting. The old woman glanced up at Kari and winked at her, raising her eyebrows towards Willie. Kari blushed, her cheeks pink. She looked down, keeping her eyes on her feet in hopes that Willie wouldn't see her blush.

"Oh, Kari, by the way, Piper was looking for you. She wants us to meet her and Jason at that small café in south Hyrule Square. She sounded pretty impatient." Willie said, Kari nodded, turning back to the old woman.

"How much?" she asked, the old woman wrapped the fabric in soft paper and put it in a box. She set the box on the counter and turned to Kari. "Fifty rupees."

Kari reached into her pocket and pulled out a purple rupee, handing it to the woman.

"Thank you very much." She said, the old woman nodded, smiling brightly.

"You're welcome, come back and see me sometime!" Kari smiled and reached for her package, but Willie beat her to it, tucking it under his right arm and offering Kari his left. Kari smiled and took his arm, waving at the old woman, who winked at Kari before as they closed the door behind them.

"So where are we meeting Piper and Jason again?" Kari asked as she and Willie headed down the street. Willie grinned.

"At that small café down at South Hyrule Square, you know, the one with the best tasting smoothie mixes in Hyrule. Remember?" Kari nodded,

"I remember that place now. My mom took me and my sister there once. They make the best strawberry smoothies I've ever tasted!" Willie nodded.

"That's the one."

The two chatted the whole way to the café, as they got close, they saw Jason and Piper sitting at one of the outside tables, talking. Kari waved at them, and they waved back, beckoning the two over. Willie and Kari quickly joined them.

"So what's up? Something going on?" Willie asked as they took seats opposite of Piper and Jason. Piper and Jason beamed at each other, and Kari and Willie exchanged glances.

Piper placed her hand on Jason's, and Kari suddenly noticed the diamond ring on Piper's left hand. She gasped.

"Oh my goddesses." She glanced up at Piper, who was laughing. Kari squealed.

"Congratulations! I can't believe it!" Willie looked confused. "What?" Kari squealed again and grabbed Piper's hand, practically bouncing in her seat.

"They're getting married!" She squealed. Piper giggled and nodded

"Yes! I knew you would notice Kari! Jason and I are engaged!" Kari squealed again, and the two girls began talking excitedly. Willie shook his head at Jason.

"You sure didn't waste and time." He teased, Jason grinned and punched Willie lightly on the shoulder.

"Will my friend, you know I'm not a very patient person." Willie laughed and punched Jason back.

"Congrats J, I know how much this means to you." Jason nodded, glancing back at Kari and his fiancée, who were still chatting excitedly, their faces beaming. Jason glanced slyly at Willie.

"It's your turn next Will." He said, winking at Willie. Kari and Piper suddenly decided to drag Willie and Jason into the conversation.

"So when's the big day?" Kari asked, wiggling eagerly in her seat. Jason and Piper glanced at each other.

"Well… we're not exactly sure yet. We're thing sometime early summer, so about four months." Piper said, Kari was beaming.

"I'm so happy for you two! So Piper, what's it feel like to be engaged?" Piper smiled at Kari.

"You'll have to find out for yourself." She said, glancing at Willie. Kari blushed and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Stop teasing Piper… it's not like I'm getting married anytime soon. Besides, I want to be engaged at least six months before I get married." Piper laughed, taking a sip of her water in front of her.

"You always did like to take your time." She said. She and Kari glanced at the boys before returning to their excited talking. ("You will be my maid of honor Kari, won't you?") Willie and Jason rolled their eyes, leaning back in their chairs and waiting for the girls to finally stop talking. This was going to be a _very_ long lunch.

-0-

"Bye Jason! Bye Piper!" Kari waved her hand in the air at the two forms going on the opposite direction. Piper turned back and waved before linking arms with her fiancée and disappearing around the corner.

Willie and Kari waited until they were out of sight before making their way back to Kari's house.

"Mom I'm home! Sorry I took so long, I ran to the fabric store, then ran into Willie and had lunch with Piper and Jason." Kendra's head appeared in the doorway leading to the kitchen.

"Hi Kari, hello Willie." Willie nodded politely and handed Kari her package.

"Don't forget this." He said with a grin. Kari took it from him. "Thank you," she said politely.

"Willie, could I talk to you for a second?" Kendra asked, appearing in the doorway. Willie nodded. Kendra turned to Kari.

"Why don't you take that upstairs while I talk to Willie for a second?" Kari shrugged and nodded, hopping up the steps to her room to put away her package.

When she came back down the steps, she saw her mother and Willie completely engrossed in their conversation. Willie nodded his head in agreement at something just as both caught sight of Kari. They immediately stopped talking. Willie waved at Kendra.

"See you later Kendra." Kendra waved and retreated back into her kitchen, leaving a slightly confused Kari to see Willie out.

Willie cleared his throat as Kari opened the door, rubbing the back of his neck nervously with his hands.

"Um… I was wondering…" He hesitated, Kari waited for him to continue. "I was wondering if tomorrow… you'd like to go out with me. On a date. Just the two of us." Kari was surprised; she defiantly wasn't expecting that. She nodded slowly.

"Ok, why not? It actually sounds like fun. What time?"

"I was thinking around noon. Sound good?" Willie was much more confident now that she had said yes. Kari nodded.

"See you at noon then." Willie nodded and stepped out the door, pausing as Kari closed the door behind him. As soon as Kari had closed the door, Willie pumped his fist in the air and let out a small "yes!"

---------------------------------------

Willie was up bright and early the next morning, much to Link's amusement. He spent hours getting ready, practically turning the entire house upside down in search for his favorite shirt.

"Looking for something?" Link asked as he watched Willie run ramped through the house for the umpteenth time. Willie paused long enough to answer Link's question.

"Favorite shirt. Can't find it." He said before taking off again. Link rolled his eyes, pulling out some bread from the cupboard in their kitchen.

"Your room, under the bed." Willie barely paused before racing up the steps, returning triumphantly a few minutes later with his favorite shirt in hand.

"Doing something special?" Link asked, noting the glow on Willie's face. Willie grinned at his father.

"I convinced Kari to go on a date with me. Today's her birthday, so I wanted to do something special for her." Link's mouth for an 'Oh' shape as he added some butter onto his bread.

"Did you get her something for her birthday?" he asked, taking a bite of his bread. Willie grinned and nodded, pulling out a small box from his pocket. Link raised his eyebrows, and Willie shook his head.

"It's not what you think it is. Here, look." Willie handed the box to Link, who opened it and nodded impressively. "I think she'll like it." Willie grinned again.

"I hope so, took forever to get made." Inside the box as a small, silver necklace with Kari's name written in fancy letters as a charm. It was gorgeous. Link closed the box and handed it back to Willie.

"You plan on giving it to her today?" Willie nodded, putting the box safely back in his pocket. He headed back up to his room slowly, pulling off his current tunic and replacing it with his favorite one.

"What time are you taking her?" Link called after Willie.

"12 O'clock!" Willie shouted back. Link glanced at the clock; it read 11:50.

"You do know that's in ten minutes?" He said up the stairs. A door slammed, and there was the sound of breaking wood.

"Aw d--- it!" Link heard Willie hiss. He shook his head and returned to the kitchen to finish his breakfast.

"Bye dad gotta go!" Willie suddenly raced down the steps and was out the door faster than Link could blink and eye. He rolled his eyes.

"Teens, always in a hurry.

-0-

Willie came to a halt right outside Kari's house, pausing to straighten his tunic and run his fingers through his hair before knocking on the door.

Seconds later, Kate opened the door, a grin on her face. She smiled at Willie.

"Come on in. Kari'll be down in a minute." She said, opening the door so he could step in. Sure enough, only a minute after Willie arrived, Kari came down the stairs, wearing a very beautiful white dress. Willie's jaw almost dropped to the floor. Kendra followed Kari down the steps and smiled at Willie's reaction.

"You think this dress is beautiful, wait until you see the one we're making her wear tonight." Kari blushed red as she said that, glaring at her mother.

"Stop it mom! You've already embarrassed me enough. I absolutely refuse to wear that dress. You know I hate dressing up." Kendra rolled her eyes.

"Just get going you two. You don't want to be late."

Luckily, Kari didn't say anything more, so the two headed out. Kendra winked at Willie when Kari wasn't looking.

The other day, while Kari had been upstairs, Kendra asked Willie to keep Kari busy for a few hours. Take her on a date; go shopping, whatever got her out of the house long enough for them to decorate the house for her surprise birthday party.

Willie shook his head and closed the door behind him, offering Kari his arm, which, to his surprise, she accepted.

"So where are we going?" she hinted curiously. Willie grinned.

"I'm not saying anything, it's all a surprise." He said, Kari pouted a bit, but didn't protest as he led to down the street. She did protest however, when he blindfolded her to surprise her.

"I feel completely ridiculous." Kari muttered as Willie led her down the street. Willie chuckled, carefully leading her to the entrance of a very nice restaurant in Hyrule marketplace.

"Are we there yet?" Kari asked, a childish scowl on her face. Willie laughed, untying the blindfold. "We're here."

Kari opened her eyes as gasped; she turned to Willie, her mouth hanging open.

"Silver sky?! How in the world did you get reservations to Silver sky?!" She gasped, her mouth still hanging open. Willie grinned.

"You will never know." He said, offering his arm. Kari took it, and the two headed in and were greeted by a hostess, who led them to their table.

"Oh Will, this place is beautiful! I can't believe you got reservations here." Kari was still awed as they took their seats. She couldn't keep her eyes in one spot for long.

"Thank you so much Willie." She said, and to Willie's surprise, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before returning to her gazing. It took her about five minutes to realize Willie was still in dream world, a grin on his face. She rolled her eyes and waved a hand in his face.

"Will… anyone home? Willie…. Do I have to say your full name?" Willie quickly snapped out of his trance at that, causing Kari to laugh. Willie pouted a bit.

"Just order," he said in a teasing voice.

-0-

The two spent over an hour at the restaurant, talking and spending time together. When they were done, Willie surprised Kari again. When they left the restaurant, Princess was waiting outside, her saddle and bridle covered in sparkles. Willie helped Kari up before mounting up behind her and heading Princess towards Lake Hylia. They reached the shore side a few minutes later, and Kari practically jumped off Princess in her rush to reach the water. She discarded her shoes, pulled her dress up, and walked into the cool lake water. Willie also took off his shoes and joined her.

"Thank you so much Willie. This is best birthday I've ever had." Kari said, looking up towards the bright blue sky.

Willie nodded wordlessly as he watched Kari, his blue eyes shining. Kari turned to smile at him before returning her gaze upwards, stretching her arms out and taking a deep breath as the wind blew in her red/brown hair. Willie reached into his pocket and clutched Kari's gift in his hand. He gently pulled it out.

"Hey, Kari." She turned to face him, a smile on her face. "Hmm?" Willie held out the box, and he saw Kari's eyes go wide. "You-?"

Willie handed her the box. "Open it." He whispered. Kari took the box in her hands, her deep blue eyes still wide, and opened it.

She gasped, pulling out the necklace. "Willie-" she broke off, her voice choking. She met his gaze, and Willie could see tears in her eyes. "It's beautiful, thank you so much." Willie grinned, blushing a little. "You're welcome."

"Put it on for me?" Kari asked, handing him the necklace. She turned around and pulled her hair over her shoulder, waiting. Willie took a deep breath and lifted the necklace around her head, clasping it closed. Kari turned back around and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

The necklace hung just below her throat, her name glowing in the sunlight. She looked up at Willie and smiled again.

"Thank you so much, I love it." Willie smiled, he was glad she like it. He glanced up, and noticed it was starting to get late.

"Come on, let's head back. We've been out here for a while." He helped Kari back on Princess, and then mounted up behind her. She leaned against his chest as he took the reins in his hands, and for a minute his heart beat faster. He sighed and turned Princess back towards Castle town, it was the perfect end to the perfect date.

--------------------------------------------

**Sorry this chapter was so short, I was very anxious to get this chapter up and running. We're getting close to the ending, there's only about 4 chapters left. I'm aiming for 25 chapters, but their just might be 24. I also plan on adding an epilogue.**

**Also, would everyone like me to put Kari's surprise birthday party into the next chapter? Or should I just move on to what I have planned. If I don't put the party in, the next chapter will take place about 3 weeks later. Mm K?**

**Also, I need names! For this story and some of my other storied I've been working on. I need both male and female names. Sorry for this long authors note everyone. Have a great new year!**

**P.S. Exactly 28 days until my 17th birthday!**


	22. Love at last

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY Link Fangirl01!!!!! This chapter's dedicated to you, happy 18th!**

**ALSO! Everyone, please go to my profile and vote in my poll. I really want to see which story everyone out there wants me to write next! Also, check out my profile for pictures of some things in Link's hardships, including Kari's outfit, a picture of a girl I think looks a bit like her, and a few things I will be adding after this chapter (squeal!)**

**I was reading Twilight last night for the uptenth time. that book is still a little awkward to read for me, since my dad's name is Edward too. I'm lucky my moms name isn't Isabella, THAT would be awkward. the first time I read it I was like 'wow dad! You're a vampire and you never told me?!' very awkward. **

**Sorr everyone, I'm rambling now. Enjoy the chapter! I have a feeling you will all love this chapter! I know I do. **

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Three weeks later…

"Bye mom!"

"See you after school mom!" Kari closed the door behind her and took off after Kate, who was running the street ahead of her.

"Kate wait up!" Kari called, watching as Kate slowed to a halt and stood waiting for her sister. Kari narrowed her eyes playfully as she got close.

"You could have waited for me you know, I'm not that slow." Kate snickered, throwing her sister a teasing glance.

"Oh shut up." Kari huffed, crossing her arms. Kate rolled her eyes and took hold of her sister's elbow, pouting her lip and making her eyes big and innocent.

"You can't stay mad forever Kari, not with my famous puppy dog pout." She said, blinking her eyes dramatically. Kari sighed.

"All right you win. Who knew dog's eyes were so effective?" Kate laughed at that, patting Kari on the shoulder. Kari rolled her eyes and looked away.

When Kate was finally able to stop laughing, she noticed Willie across the street, staring at a store window. She nudged Kari in the arm.

"Hey look Kari, it's Willie." Kari glanced over to where Kate was looking and saw Willie. She glanced at Kate.

"What is he doing?" Kate shrugged, "Dunno. Let's ask him. HEY WILLIE!!!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, waving her arm. Willie wheeled around, his books under his left arm, and saw them. He brightened up and waved back, jogging over to meet them.

"Hey Kate, morning Kari." He said, falling in step next to them.

"Morning Willie!" Kate said brightly. Kari smiled. "Hi Willie." Willie grinned back, and the trio walked the rest of the way to school together.

Unfortunately, neither Kari nor Kate had noticed the sign of the store Willie was looking at, if they had, they would have been shocked beyond belief.

-----------------------------------

Briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!

The bell to last period rang loud and clear, and was soon followed by a flood of students exiting their classrooms.

"Kari! Kari wait up!" Kari turned and noticed Piper running towards her, waving her arm. Kari smiled and waited for her friend to catch up. "Hello Piper. Where's Jason? Every time I see you he's not far behind." Piper rolled her eyes.

"I told him to go find Willie for a while. He's been following me non stop for the past three weeks, glaring at any guy who so much as _looks_ at me." Kari laughed, turning down a corridor towards the junior high classrooms.

"Still, at least that means he cares a lot about you. He's jealous enough to have to stalk you." Piper rolled her eyes.

"Thank you so much for the helpful knowledge queen of advice." Kari laughed again, stopping at one of the classrooms. Piper looked confused.

"Why are we in the junior high side of the building?" Kari rolled her eyes.

"I'm tutoring today. So I won't be leaving for another hour or so. You don't have to wait for me, I'm sure your stalker fiancé is looking everywhere for you." Piper sent a glare colder than Antarctica at Kari. Kari just laughed, opening the door.

"Oh, and if you see Will, will you please tell him I don't need an escort home and he doesn't need to wait for me?" Piper nodded, holding back a laugh.

"Sure thing Kari, though I'm sure it'll take more than that to keep him from waiting." Kari sighed, "Bye Piper." Piper waved her hand and she headed down the hallway.

Kari stepped in the classroom and closed the door. She turned around and saw a young boy and a teacher standing next to a desk. She walked over.

"Miss Ann. Nice to see to see you again. How's teaching?" This year, the four friends and gotten a new teacher, a middle aged woman who was considerably nicer than Miss Ann. They certainly weren't complaining.

"I'm fine." Miss Ann snapped. She turned to the boy. "This is William. He prefers being called Will. He's in fifth grade." Kari smiled at Will.

"Hi Will, my name's Kari. I just turned seventeen. How old are you?" Will stared at Kari for a minute before shyly whispering 10.

"-You're 10? How cool is that?"

"He's not much of a talker." Miss Ann said gruffly. She turned and walked towards the door.

"His parents'll be here in an hour." Then she was gone, slamming the door behind her. Kari jumped at the noise.

"She's scary isn't she?" She said to Will. He nodded, his face serious. Kari laughed.

"You know, I have a good friend named William, but he likes to be called Willie. Maybe I'll bring him to meet you sometime, how about that?" Will nodded again, and Kari set her bag on the floor.

"Alright Will, let's start your homework."

-0-

An hour later, Kari and Will were just finishing his homework when there was a knock on the door and a blonde woman stepped in the room.

"Will, you ready to go?" Will picked up his bags and nodded. "I'll be right there." He said. His mother nodded and left the room. Will turned to Kari.

"Thanks for helping me, will you help me again?" Kari nodded, smiling. "Of course. I go to this school too; so anytime you need help, just let me know. I'll see you back here in a few days all right? I'll tell your teacher my next open day." Will nodded, and to Kari's surprise, he reached over and hugged her.

"Thanks Kari, see you later!" Then he picked up his bags and was out the door faster than Kari could blink. Kari quickly picked up her bag and made her way to the door, ready to walk home. Imagine her surprise when she saw Willie there waiting for her.

"Hey, you ready to go?" He asked, Kari sighed. "What are you doing here? I specifically told Piper to tell you that you didn't have to wait for me today." Willie shrugged.

"I wasn't paying attention." Kari rolled her eyes, "what a surprise." Willie stood up, his bag hanging over his shoulder.

"Are you ready to go or what?" Kari sighed, nodding. "Alright, let's go. I promised my mom I'd run to the store for her when I got home. Why don't you come with me? Of course, Willie never missed an opportunity to be with Kari. "Sure," He replied.

The two chatted the entire walk to Kari's house, where Kari ditched her bag in her room.

"Hey mom, I'm going to the store now, and Willie's coming with me. Be back soon ok?" Kendra appeared in the doorway.

"Alright Kari. See you in a little while." Kari nodded and nudged Willie. "Ready?" He nodded.

"I'll catch up, I need to do something first. Kari nodded and left, closing the door behind her. Willie turned to Kendra, taking a deep breath.

"I have to ask you something…"

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Link was suspicious.

Willie was up to something, and he had yet to tell his father. Link had decided to speak to Kendra about it, maybe she had a clue of what was going on.

Link headed across the street, raising a fist and knocking on Kendra's door. Kate opened it, looking a bit surprised to see Link standing there.

"Mr. Link? Is something wrong?" Link shook his head.

"First off Kate, call me Link. Second, I just want to talk to your mother for a minute. It's about Willie." Kate nodded, opening the door wider.

"Come on in, I'll go get mom. MOM!!" Kate ran into the kitchen. Where else would her mother be?

"Link's here!" Kendra appeared in the doorway, wiping her hands on a towel.

"Oh, hello Link. Is something wrong?" Link shook his head.

"No, not at all. I just wanted to talk to you about Willie." Kendra nodded, waiting. Link sighed,

"Have you noticed him acting strange at all? Something's going on, and he hasn't told me anything. Do you have any idea?" Kendra laughed a little, her hands on her hips.

"He hasn't said anything to you? I would've thought he'd of at least told you." Link shook his head, Kendra smiled.

"Well, here's the big news…."

-0-

the next day…

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!

The bell for last period rang, followed by a sea of students leaving their classrooms ten seconds later, the halls filling with students talking, laughing and making their way towards their lockers.

Kari left one of the rooms, her bag slung over her shoulder. She sighed as she headed for her locker, unlocking it and pulling two books out before closing it and heading for the large double doors of the school entrance.

She hadn't seen any sign of Willie today, or even Piper and Jason. They must have skipped to work on their wedding plans. They were getting married in three months, sometime in May.

It was warm and sunny when Kari stepped outside, something a bit unusual for February. Kari made her way home slowly, knowing she'd have nothing to do when she got home. She let he bag slip off her shoulder and slid down to her arm, crossing her arms to keep it from falling off.

_I need to get a job or something…_ she thought, and that's when the light bulb clicked.

The fabric shop! Maybe the old woman needed an assistant or something.

Kari wheeled around and headed in the opposite direction, running in the direction of the fabric store, the necklace Willie gave her sparkling around her neck. She didn't even noticed Willie, Piper of Jason waving at her from their seat at a café across the street. Willie said something to Piper and Jason, and Piper jumped up with joy. She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him excitedly. Jason clapped him on the back, and then punched him lightly in the shoulder. Willie grinned at them, then turned and watched the direction Kari had just went.

-0-

Kari came to a stop in front of the fabric store, taking a deep breath in order to stop her panting before opening the door and heading inside.

The old woman looked up and smiled as she recognized Kari, her hands on her hips.

"Well if it isn't miss silver silk! How's life be treating you?" Kari smiled.

"I've fine, thank you very much." The old woman studied Kari, her eyes narrowed and a smirk on her face.

"Is there something I can help you with Kari?" Kari nodded, "yea I- wait, how did you know my name?" the old woman shrugged. "Old ladies know a lot of things. Now tell me, what do you need?" Kari set her bag on the floor.

"I was wondering if you needed an assistant around her, someone to help you out. I've got a bunch of extra time and figured I should get a job." The old woman smiled,

"That's great! I've been looking for someone to help me!" She pointed to a sign sitting in the window, which Kari could swear hadn't been there when she came in.

"When can you start? Is today good? Oh I'm so glad you're here to help me!" Kari smiled.

"Thank you, today's fine. Apparently you already know, but my name's Kari." The old woman smiled, "My name's Amanda, but my nickname is Ama." Kari smiled.

"Nice to meet you Amanda." Ama smirked, "Likewise Kari." She reached under the counter and handed Kari and apron.

"Here you go!" Kari took it and tied it around her waist. Ama opened the door behind the counter and beckoned Kari inside. Kari smiled, she had a going feeling she was going to like this job.

-0-

Kari returned home a few hours later, a bit tired but happy with her new job. Her mother and sister were sitting in the living room, waiting for her, her mother had a frown on her face.

"Kari, where have you been? We've been so worried about you!" Kari blinked.

"Sorry mom, I got a new job today so I-" Kendra interrupted her.

"You got a new job? Where?" Kari smiled,

"At that fabric store a few blocks away, you know, Ama's fabrics, the one we went to all the time!" Kendra nodded.

"What a nice place! I'm glad you got a good job Kari, but you're still not excused from making us worry so much. Willie saw you running down the street by that little café, but no one saw you after that. We were all very worried, especially Willie." Kari hung her head.

"I'm sorry mom, I'll apologize to Willie tomorrow at school, ok?" Kendra nodded. "That's my good girl." Kari smiled, headed for the stairs.

"Oh mom," she stopped at the bottom of the steps, "I'll be working tomorrow too, so I won't be home for a while." Kendra nodded.

"Alright dear, just be careful." Kari nodded and continued up the steps to her room.

-0-

The next day, Willie was waiting for Kari and Kate as they approached. Willie saw Kari's face fall as she saw him, causing him to frown as well. Kate shot a glance at the two and headed inside, a smirk on her face.

Kari stared down at her shoes. "I'm sorry Willie." Willie looked confused, "for what?" he asked, Kari sighed, "For making you worry yesterday. I was at the fabric shop. The lady there hired me to work there, so I'll be there after school from now on." Willie grimaced,

"How long are you going to be there?" he asked, Kari shrugged, looking up at him.

"I don't know, a few hours maybe." Willie nodded. "Ok," was all he said. He glanced towards the school.

"We should probably go inside." Kari nodded, heading up the steps; Willie followed her inside, waiting as she stopped by her locker. Kids were still in the hallways, talking and getting things from their lockers.

"Hey Kari!" A voice said, Kari looked up and saw the little boy named Will she had tutored a few days ago. She waved at him.

"Hi Will." He looked excited as he waved back before bolting off down the hallway. Willie watched the exchange, a curious/bewildered look on his face.

"Who was that?" He asked. Kari pulled a textbook out of her locker and stuck it in her bag.

"A little ten year old boy I tutor. His name's Will." Willie nodded, "interesting, how old is he again?" Kari closed her locker. "Ten." She replied. Willie slung his bag back over his shoulder.

"I didn't know you tutored." Kari shrugged, "it's nothing something I shouted out to the world." Willie grinned.

"Still…" He was interrupted by the bell ringing. He waved at Kari. "See you after class." Kari nodded, "See you later Willie." She watching him grin at her and jog down the hallway towards his class before entering her own.

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A few hours later, at the fabric shop.

"Kari!" Kari turned at the sound of her name and saw Ama standing behind her, a smile on her face.

"The shop's closing in a few minutes, why don't you head on home?" Kari shook her head.

"It's ok Ama, I don't mind waiting." Ama glanced out the shop window. "Are you sure? Cause that boy you were with last time is looking pretty impatient outside." Kari was confused. "What boy?" Ama nodded towards the window, her face grinning. Kari leaned over and glanced out of the window, recognizing the muscled form of Willie leaning next to the shop.

"What is he doing here?" Kari muttered, a bit confused. Ama laughed.

"Oh I'm sure he's here for a reason Kar." Kari shot a glare at Ama, her hands on her hips. Ama laughed, shaking her head.

"Why else would he be here? I mean, he sure didn't give you that necklace without a reason." Ama nodded towards the necklace Willie gave Kari around her neck.

"How did you know he gave it to me?" Kari asked, touching the necklace with her hand. Ama shrugged.

"Kari, who else would give you a necklace that special?" Kari was speechless. Ama made a shooing motion towards the door, mouthing 'go talk to him' Kari rolled her eyes before exiting the shop.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, standing next to the door with her hands on her hips. Willie stood up straight and walked towards her.

"It's getting dark, I just wanted to make sure you got home safely. Are you almost done?" Kari blinked, "um, yeah, just let me get my things." Willie nodded and returned to leaning against the wall to wait for her.

A bit dazed, Kari went back in the shop, untying her apron as she did so. Ama was leaning against the counter, a smile on her face. "So…." She said, Kari shot a glance at her before setting her apron on the counter. "So," she replied. Ama smiled.

"So… what did he say?" Kari rolled her eyes.

"He just said he came to walk me home. He doesn't want anything to happen to me." Ama let out a very childish squeal.  
"He is so in love with you Kari!" Kari blushed, grabbing her back off the hook behind the counter.

Ama laughed, nudging Kari in the arm. "Don't let that handsome hunk get away from you honey! If he's chasing you, let him catch you eventually!" Kari's cheeks turned even redder.

"I'll see you later Ama." She muttered before bolting out the door, leaving an excited Ama behind.

Willie stood up straight as she came out, a grin on his face. Kari's face turned white.

"You heard her scream, didn't you?" She said.

"And laugh excitedly." He replied, Kari groaned, feeling her face turn red again. Willie laughed, placing an arm around her back.

"It's not so bad." Kari groaned again.

"It is if your boss is set on embarrassing you to death! You know, I think she likes you." Willie shrugged.

"What can I say? Everyone loves this charm." Kari rolled her eyes.

"So full of yourself." Willie grinned. "You know it." Kari laughed a bit. Willie's face was instantly serious.

"Seriously though Kari…" she slowly stopped laughing and looked at him. "Yeah?" His cheeks turned slightly pink.

"Would you be interested in going out with me again? On another date I mean. I think you and I have something important to talk about." Kari blinked, her face slightly crestfallen.

"Yes, I think we do. What time and when?" Willie smiled. "How about tomorrow night?" Kari hesitated, "I can't, I work tomorrow. How about the day after?" Willie nodded.

"It's a date." He said. The two looked up and found themselves in front of Kari's house.

"Goodnight Kari." Willie said, and much to Kari's surprise, he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek before turning back towards his own house.

"…Goodnight." Kari said softly, watching him go before opening the door to her house.

-------------------------------------------

Two days later, date night!

Willie stood outside Kari's house, dressed in a clean tunic and pants. He had told Kari to dress casually, but refused to tell her anything more. Kari had agreed, but suspiciously. Her boss had agreed to let her have the night off, practically pushing Kari out the door when Kari told her she had a date.

Willie rapped his knuckles on the door, and a minute later it swung open, revealing a casually dressed Kari standing at the door. She was wearing a simple but beautiful white dress with silver around the sleeves and around the waist. Willie noticed she was wearing the necklace he gave her around his neck. HE smiled at her,

"You look beautiful." She blushed, hanging her head. Her hair was loose today, and fell down her back in waves. She smiled, "Ready to go?" Willie nodded and held out his arm, making her laugh. She took it and waved at her mother and sister before closing the door behind her.

"So are you finally going to tell me where we're going?" she hinted. Willie shook his head.

"Not a chance milady. However, I am going to blindfold you until we get there." Kari groaned playfully, leaning her head back as Willie pulled a piece of cloth out of his pocket. She waited patiently as he tied it around her eyes. She heard him whistle, and the sound of hoof beats came close until it stopped next to them.

"All right Kari up you go." Willie suddenly lifted her up by her waist and set her on the horse, causing her to scream lightly in alarm. It only made him laugh.

"It's just Princess Kari, she won't buck you off." Kari relaxed at this news, waiting as Willie carefully mounted up behind her, picking up the reins and trotting Princess down the street.

They rode for what seemed like an hour. Kari guessed they were somewhere grassy, judging by the sound Princess's hooves made on the ground. Eventually Princess slowed to a walk, and then Willie stopped her, dismounting from the side.

"Alright Kari, ready to get down?" Kari nodded. "Yes ple-AH!" She yelped as Willie picked her up again and gently set her on the ground.

"Can you please take this blindfold off?" Willie laughed, "Of course. We have finally reached our destination princess." Kari's face scrunched up in confusion, causing Willie to laugh.

"I was talking about you Kari. Not my horse." Kari's mouth formed an 'O'. Willie laughed again and pulled the blindfold off Kari's head. Kari's mouth dropped open.

"Oh wow! This is beautiful Willie!"

They were at Lake Hylia. Willie had set up a blanket and picnic under a tree right next to the lake, and the sun was beginning to set in the background.

Kari walked over to the blanket, smiling the whole time. "This is amazing Willie. But you really didn't have to do all this for me." Willie rolled his eyes.

"Of course I did, nothing is too good for my girl." Kari rolled her eyes at the nickname. It'd been a while since he called her that. Willie sat on the blanket, right against the tree trunk.

"Hungry?" He said, Kari nodded and sat opposite, peering into the basket in the middle of the blanket. "Who packed this?" She asked, Willie grinned. "Your mom did." Kari's mouth dropped open as she pulled out a bowl of fruit. "She knew about this before I did?" Willie nodded, reaching in a pulling out a bowl of salad in one hand and a plate of pasta in the other. Kari and Willie also pulled out a jug of lemonade and two glasses, and a small chocolate cake with vanilla icing drizzled over the top.

"She went way out." Kari said as the two dug into their meal, Willie shrugged.

"Maybe, but who cares?" Kari laughed at that, and the two spent 45 minutes eating their meal and chatting.

By the time they had finished, the sun was halfway gone over the horizon. Kari sat quietly, watching it slowly set. Willie jumped to his feet, offering his hand to Kari.

"Wanna go walk on the beach?" Kari smiled and took his hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet. He offered her his arm again, and she took it, using her right hand to pull her shoes off. Willie also pulled his boots off.

Within a minute they were on the beach, walking side by side. Willie glanced at Kari.

"You know, we never really did get to talk about everything that happened at Hyrule castle a few months ago." Kari nodded slowly, looking up at Willie. "Yeah," she said.

"You already know how I feel. I've loved you since we were young, there's no question about that." He said, Kari glanced at the setting sun.

"I've thought a lot about this, about my feelings, everything. When we were little, I used to hate you; I felt like you were sent by the goddesses to drive me crazy. I didn't understand.

"And I still don't understand. I don't understand why you chose me of all people to fall in love with." She stopped and looked up at Willie, and he sighed.

"I don't really know myself why my heart chose you. All I do know is I love you, and I'll never stop." He paused.

"When we were at Hyrule castle, I told myself I would love you even if you didn't love me back. That I would stay by your side as a friend, and would never stop you or get in your way when you fell in love." Kari listened quietly, thinking about everything he was saying.

_Even if I fall in love and leave him, he'll never stop loving me or being my friend_. Kari felt tears come to her eyes.

"You know," she choked. "When we were younger, I always told myself that I hated you. That nothing would make me happier than seeing you leave. But the older we got, and the less you pranked me, it got harder and harder to convince myself." Willie nodded.

"I know what you mean. I tried to convince myself I wasn't in love with you, that you were only a good friend and nothing else to me, and that I didn't need you.

"But then I'd look into your eyes…. And I saw everything. I saw my soul mate inside you, everything I dreamed for in a woman. It was you. I couldn't deny my feelings after that."

Kari waited; she could tell he had more to say.

"But as much as I wanted your love, as much as I wanted to be with you, I never thought you would love me back. Why would a beautiful swan love and ordinary duck like me? So I tried to give up on you ever loving me back. But as much as I tried, and couldn't stop myself of dreaming that you loved me, that you could somehow possibly want to be with me."

" I don't want you to give up, because that's the problem." Kari said, "I DO love you," She stopped walking and turned to face him. Willie looked stunned, like he hadn't heard her properly.

"I'm sorry it's taken so long to realize it," she continued, "but I finally see it. I do love you, I love you so much!"

Willie's face broke into a huge grin. He opened his arms, and Kari walked into them, burying her face in his chest in an attempt to stop the tears from sliding down her face. She couldn't help it, she was so happy. This felt so right, being in Willie's arms, feeling him hold her. It felt completely right. She pulled back and looked up at his face, smiling at the big grin on his face.

Before she knew what was happening, Willie leaned down and kissed her, pressing his lips against hers. She hesitated for a minute, a bit surprised, before kissed him back, moving her mouth against his.

He pulled back slowly after a minute, resting his forehead against hers. They stared in each other's eyes, completely lost in the moment.

As much as Willie wanted to stare in Kari's eyes forever, he looked away, reaching in his pocket.

"I wasn't sure how you felt about me, but I wanted to have this in the case there was a slim, miraculous chance you loved me. " Kari glanced down at his pocket before looking back at his face.

Willie pulled a small box out of his pocket, holding out to Kari, whose mouth was hanging open. He opened it, revealing a beautiful diamond ring.

"Kari, will you marry me?"  
Kari was speechless. She stared into Willie's eyes, opening her mouth to speak.

"Yes, I will!"

-------------------------------------------------------

**I'm very proud of this chapter. I think it's one of my favorites so far. Last night I was talking to my parents and I told them about my account here and all my stories. My mom thought it was the coolest thing, my dad told me to start selling my stories so they could retire. sigh, he's so weird sometimes.**

**Don't forget to check out my profile and vote in my poll! And thank you all for the wonderful reviews! Sorry if I didn't reply to your review, I have a horrible memory, so I sometimes forget which ones I've replied to! And if I've sent you a reply twice... well, now you know why. **

**Thanks all!**

**Anime Wildfire**


	23. Double the shock

**HOLY COW!! It's been forever since I updated this. Aren't you all excited?! Only two more chapters to go! The next chapter is Kari and Willie's wedding and then the last chapter is an epilogue! YAY! The last chapter will also leave room for a sequel! Yes, you heard right, I'm planning a sequel!**

**Now enjoy the chapter!**

--

Link leaned against the doorway of his son's room, watching as Willie straightened the collar of his tunic in the mirror. He chuckled.

"You know, if you fuss anymore over that tunic, something _will_ go wrong." Willie wheeled around, surprised by his father's voice. He grinned at him.

"I just want to look nice for mom. I've noticed she a bit of a stickler for cleanness." Link chuckled.

"You have me there." He paused, "so when are you and Kari going?" Willie glanced at the clock on the wall. "Any minute. I just have to go get Kari." Link nodded.

"Good luck son." He said, walking up to Willie clapping him on the back. Willie grinned.

"Thanks dad."

-0-

"Bye mom! Bye Kate! We'll be back in a few hours!" Kari waved to her mother and sister as she took the hand Willie offered her and pulled herself up behind him on Princess. Kendra and Kate waved at her.

"Good luck!" Kari and Willie waved at them before Willie nudged Princess into a canter.

The rode for several minutes until they reached the royal stables, where a servant took Princess, bowing to Willie as he did so. Willie offered Kari his arm and she took it, smiling brightly.

The two made their way to the gates to castle, pausing to speak to the guards.

But there was no need. The guards recognized Willie instantly and stood up straight.

"Open the gate! It's Prince William!" The gatekeeper nodded, instantly opening the gate. Willie and Kari waved to the guards before making their way inside, walking up to the giant double doors of the castle.

The guards at the door also recognized him and immediately opened the gate for them. A guard accompanied them inside to announce them.

"Presenting! Prince William and Lady Karin!" Willie leaned over to Kari after he said that.

"Karin?" Kari nodded, "yeah, unfortunately that's my full name."

"You never told me that." Willie said, Kari shrugged. "You never asked."

Zelda was sitting on the throne when Willie and Kari were announced, and as they came close she stepped down to greet them.

"It's good to see you Willie." Zelda said, smiling as she hugged her son. (Who was now several inches taller than her) Willie hugged her back.

"It's good to see you too mom." Zelda released Willie and stepped back, looking at him.

"What brings you two here? Good news I hope." Willie and Kari glanced at each other.

"Very good news actually." Willie said, Zelda looked excited. "Well?" Willie and Kari glanced at each other again.

"Mom, Kari and I are engaged." Zelda squealed and threw her arms around Willie, hugging him.

"Congratulations!" She let go of Willie and hugged Kari. "Congratulations to you too! I always knew you two would make a good couple!" Willie grinned while Kari blushed. Zelda smiled at them.

"Not to rain on your parade or anything, but I have something to show the two of you too." She beckoned them towards the door.

"Of course, you already heard and everything, but you haven't visited since then." Zelda led Willie and Kari down the long hallway until she stopped in front of a pair of double doors.

"Willie, I'd like you to meet someone." She pushed the doors open and led Willie and Kari over to the large cradle in the middle of the room.

"Willie, meet your little sister, Zelda." Kari gasped as she and Willie glanced down at the tiny princess.

"Aww! She's so cute!" Willie grinned at her.

"She's real cute mom." He said, Zelda smiled. "Would you like to hold her?" Willie paled, shaking his head. Kari, however, nodded eagerly.

So Princess Zelda reached into the cradle and picked up her daughter, who was also named Princess Zelda, and carefully handed her to Kari.

Kari smiled down at the baby princess and cooed at her, rocking her in her arms while Willie watched with gentle eyes.

"She's adorable." Kari said a minute later as she handed the baby princess back to her mother. Her little soon-to-be sister in law stared up at her, cooing. Kari tickled her cheek and watched as Zelda carefully laid her daughter into her crib.

"It was nice seeing you mom." Willie said, placing a hand on Kari's shoulder, "but we gotta go now. Her mom and dad are probably worried about us." Zelda nodded.

"Of course. But I would like to meet your mother sometime Kari. Does she like tea? I was thinking of inviting her to the castle for some tea." Kari nodded.

"Yes, my mom enjoys tea very much. I'm sure she'd be honored to come." Zelda waved her hand.

"She'd better get used to seeing me. The two of us have a lot to catch up on!" Kari smiled.

"You sure do." She said, Willie turned towards the door, and Kari followed him, waving to Zelda as she left.

--

3 months later, the day before Piper and Jason's wedding.

"KARI!!" Kari's head jerked up in surprise from where she was doing dishes in the kitchen. She quickly raced towards the door, where someone could be heard banging from the other side.

Kari opened the door to see a panic stricken Piper standing there. "… Piper? What are you doing here? I thought you were going to pick up your dress."

Piper suddenly burst into tears, falling to her knees right in front of Kari. Kari gasped and dropped down next to her.

"Piper What's the matter?! Are you ok?!" Piper nodded, sniffling as she looked up to me Kari's gaze.

"I'm sorry Kari, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm just freaking out…" Kari stood up and motioned inside.

"Come inside and tell me about it." She said firmly. Piper nodded, getting to her feet and following Kari over to the couch.

"Start talking." Kari said, plopping down on the right side of the couch. Piper sat on the left side, grabbing a pillow and leaning her arms on it.

"Well, you know how my dress got ripped and I had to go get it repaired and all?" Kari nodded, "well, I had to go get my dress today…"

Five minutes later…

"So when I got there, they said they were almost done with it, that the seamstress was just putting the final touches on it.

"I waited forever until finally the manager came out and told me they couldn't find the seamstress or my dress!" Kari gasped.

"Your dress was stolen!?" Piper's eyes filled with tears. "Yes, and on the day before my wedding!" Piper started crying again, burying her face in the pillow. Kari reached over and wrapped her arms around Piper in a comforting hug. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Kari quickly stood up and walked over, relived when she opened the door and found a worried looking Jason and Willie there.

"Kari, have you seen Piper? We can't find her anywhere." Jason explained quickly. Kari nodded.

"It's ok, she's here. She's having a bit of a crisis." Jason looked alarmed. "What?"

"Her dress was stolen." Kari explained, Jason quickly ran into the room to comfort Piper. Willie turned to his fiancée. "Her dress was stolen?" Kari nodded.

"Apparently the seamstress fixing it took a liking to it and decided to keep it." She said, she and Willie headed into the living room.

Jason was hugging Piper, trying to console her and reassuring her that everything would be fine."

"But the wedding's tomorrow, how am I going to find another dress in time?!" Piper said, sniffling. Kari smiled.

"I've got a plan Piper." Piper's head shot up, her face full of hope. "You do?!" Kari nodded. She turned to Willie.

"I'm sorry it won't be a surprise for our wedding, but Piper's desperate." She turned to Piper.

"You can borrow my wedding dress." Both Jason and Piper looked surprised.

"Isn't your dress custom made?" Piper asked, Kari nodded. "Yup." Piper took Kari's hand.

"You'd do that for me?" Kari nodded. "Of course." She said. She jumped to her feet.

"In fact, let's go try it on right now!" Piper jumped to her feet, her face full of excitement, and the two girls rushed up the steps towards Kari's room. Jason turned to look at Willie, a question mark over his head. Willie just shrugged.

--

A few minutes later.

Piper sank to her knees, burying her face in her hands. "It's hopeless." She wailed. Kari frowned at the dress lying on the bed in front of her.

"I can't believe it didn't fit. I thought for sure we were the same size." Piper groaned.

"Apparently not." Kari sat on the bed next to Piper.

"Don't get upset. We'll figure something out. You are going to get married tomorrow, and you are going to look beautiful." Piper lifted her head to glance at Kari.

"Thank you." She said, she sat up and hugged Kari.

At that moment, Kendra poked her head into the room. "How's the dress coming along?" Piper sighed, and the two girls broke their hug, sitting quietly on the edge of the bed

"It didn't fit." Kari said, glancing at the dress next to her.

"Is it too tight, or too lose?" Kendra asked. Piper glanced up at her, "too small." She said. Kendra smiled.

"I've got it." Piper and Kari's heads shot up hopefully. "What it is?" Kendra smiled.

"I have a dress that I think will fit." Piper jumped to her feet, "you do?!" Kendra nodded.

"Come on, I'll show you."

-0-

"Oh Piper, it's beautiful!" Five minutes later, the three women stood in Kendra's room, standing in front of the mirror.

"Mom, where did you get that dress?" Kari asked, sitting on her mother's bed. Kendra smiled.

"That was my wedding dress." She said, "I had a feeling it would fit Piper. She is about the same size I was when I got married."

Piper twirled around in the sleeveless wedding gown, pausing to hug Kendra.

"Thank you so much, you saved my wedding." Kendra hugged her back, "you're welcome Piper."

Kari stood up, clapping her hands. "Alright enough of this sitting around! We've got a wedding to plan!"

--

The day of the wedding…

"You may now kiss the bride."

Jason lifted Piper's veil over her head and kissed her softly as everyone began clapping. Kari, who was the maid of honor, caught Willie's eye. Willie grinned at her and winked, causing Kari to laugh. Then Jason scooped Piper up bridle style and carried her down the isle, followed by Willie and Kari and the rest of the bridesmaids and groomsmen.

Jason carried Piper all the way out to the carriage waiting outside the church, setting her down in front of the steps. Piper was laughing, and the two waved at all the guests as they climbed into the carriage. The driver flicked the reins, and the carriage headed off to the reception hall.

Willie stopped waving and turned to Kari, who was holding on to his arm while waving.

"Shall we?" He said, and Kari nodded. The two followed the sea of guests towards horses and carriages as everyone prepared to head to the reception.

-0-

The reception hall began to crowd as guests arrived, talking and finding seats among the tables. Kari and Willie were seated next to the bride and groom, so Kari turned to Willie and the two started talking while waiting for the reception to officially start.

As soon as everyone was here, Piper and Jason stood up.

"We'd both like to thank all of you for coming tonight, now please enjoy all the food!" Everyone stood up and headed for the tables filled with food against the wall. The newlyweds went first, followed by the maid of honor and the best man (Aka, Kari and Willie) and then the family of the newlyweds.

Kari and Willie quickly returned to the seats after they'd gotten their food, the line was long and everyone was hungry.

As soon as they got to their seats, Kari nudged Willie, and the two picked up their glasses and stood up.

"On behalf of everyone here," Kari said, " we'd like to make a toast to the bride and groom. Our two best friends in the entire world, and to wish them happiness in their new life." Everyone clapped and took a sip of their Champaign.

As soon as they sat down, everyone began clinking their glasses, signaling the newlyweds to kiss. Jason and Piper were laughing as they leaned towards each other and gently kissed, causing everyone to clap and some to hoot.

Finally, after everyone had finished eating, it was time to cut the cake. Everyone laughed as Piper and Jason shoved cake into each other's faces, and soon everyone was in line to get a piece of the cake.

Everyone was talking and laughing and sharing stories as they ate their cake, and it wasn't too soon after that music started to play and the bride and groom were called for the first dance.

Piper's face was flushed as Jason led her down to the dance floor. She and Kari locked eyes, and Kari gave her a thumbs up.

A slow song began to play, and Jason and Piper began to dance slowly around the floor, oblivious to everyone but them. Kari and Willie exchanged a glance as they watched, both imagining their own wedding as they watched Jason and Piper. Finally the song ended, and the best man and maid of honor were called to the floor.

Willie and Kari made their way to the dance floor next to Piper and Jason, who were beaming at them.

"You're next." Jason said to Willie, causing his cheeks to turn a bit pink. He put his hand on Kari's waist and she put her hand on his shoulder, and the two began to dance.

The song was slow and calming, and after they had been dancing for a minute, Kari leaned her head against Willie's shoulder and closed her eyes. Willie just smiled softly and lay his head on top of hers, glancing over to see Jason and Piper doing the same thing. (A/N I'm listening to the song 'my heart will go on' as I type this)

The two couples were in such a happy bliss they didn't notice other couples begin to join them on the dance floor, and for the next several minutes, everything was peaceful as all the couples danced together.

-0-

Finally, when the song was over, Kari lifted her head off Willie's shoulder, and everyone clapped.

Piper's mother stepped onto the dance floor, holding her hands up for silence.

"All right," she started, "the dancing will continue in a minute, but now it is time for the throwing of the boutique and the bride's garter!"

Everyone began clapping as she left the floor, and all the single women, including Kari, began to crowd onto the dance floor.

Piper was laughing as she stood on one side of the dance floor with her boutique in hand. Her mother went to stand next to her as she turned around. The excited noises of the young women could be heard as Piper held the boutique above her head, then threw it hard over her shoulder.

She turned around just in time to witness the boutique sour through the air and right into Kari's arms. Kari began laughing as she caught the boutique, and so did everyone who knew of her engagement to Willie. Willie himself thought it was hilarious, and when Kari walked over to him to show him the boutique, he kissed her.

After the throwing of the boutique, it was time for the throwing of the bride's garter. All the single young men, including Willie of course, filed onto the dance floor. Jason winked at Willie and jokingly pretended to throw it at him. Piper rolled her eyes at him.

Jason finally turned around, still laughing, and threw the garter hard over his head.

No one was surprised when Willie caught it, but they all laughed just the same.

The music started up again, and everyone filed onto the dance floor and began a long night of dancing and celebrating.

--

"Thank you for coming, have a good night." Jason and Piper hugged and said goodbye to the last guest as they headed out the door after a long reception. As soon as they were gone, Kari and Willie walked over to them. Kari hugged Piper and Willie shook Jason's hands.

"A million times congrats." Kari said with a huge smile. Willie clapped Jason on the shoulder. "You finally did it. You finally tied the knot." Jason laughed and wrapped his arm around Piper's shoulder.

"Your turn next Will." Piper started smiling even wider. "I cannot wait for your wedding! Only three more months to go!"

"I know!" Kari said, and the two started squealing and talking about the wedding. Jason and Willie just shook their heads.

"So where are you two going on your honeymoon?" Willie asked, breaking the girls out of their squeal fest. Piper and Jason glanced at each other.

"Well, there is this absolutely AMAZING resort down by lake Hylia. It has a spa and a beach and looks sooo relaxing." Piper said, Kari nodded in agreement. Piper shot a glance at Willie.

"So where are you two going on your honeymoon?" Willie and Kari shot a glance at each other.

"Well, we have a few ideas…" Kari said, "were thinking either Termina, or possibly even that resort the Zora's run." Willie nodded.

"But we haven't decided yet. When do you two leave?" Jason and Piper shot a glance at one another. "Tonight," Jason said, "and we'll be gone for a week or so."

"That awesome." Willie said. He glanced at Kari. "I hate to say this, but we've got to go. I've got to get Kari home and then get some rest for a big job tomorrow."

"Oh did you and your dad get a big order?" Piper asked, Willie nodded. "Yep, replacing a wall and fixing a roof. It's going to be quite the busy day."

"Well we'll be seeing you when we get back then," Jason said, he shook Willie's hand and hugged him while Kari and Piper threw their arms around each other in a five-minute hug. When they finally let go, Jason and Kari hugged goodbye while Willie and Piper hugged goodbye, then the couples went their separate ways.

"That was a beautiful wedding, huh?" Kari said as she hooked her arm around Willie's and the two headed to Kari's house.

"Yeah, it was, and they really deserved it too." Willie said. Kari nodded, and the two continued on their way, thoughts of their own wedding in their heads.

--

**Hehe, sorry if it seemed cheesy, I just really wanted to get it done and I haven't been to a wedding since I was very little. By the way, I need some help for Willie and Kari's wedding. Does anyone know if the groom removes or puts on the bride's garter? I have no idea.**

**Wow! For all of you that review Impossible Miracle. HOLY CRAP!! I went away for a few days, I come back, check my email, AND I HAVE OVER 30 EMAILS!! Thank you all sooooooo much!**

**Also, I need the advice of one of my reviewers. Someone that is a true Twilight fan. I have an idea for Impossible Miracle, something I want to add in that I have never seen done before, so I need somebody to tell me what they think of my idea. Let me know via review or PM if your interested. I will be picking someone, so let me know!**


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